ERDOGAN SLAMS UAE OVER FM'S ANTI-TURKISH RETWEET
Without mentioning Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan directly, Erdogan said
"some Arab leaders" were antagonising his country in order to
"cover their ignorance and their incompetence."
The angry rebuke comes a day after a spokesperson for the Turkish
president, Ibrahim Kalin, accused the UAE of spreading divisive propaganda
after the UAE's most senior diplomat retweeted a post claiming Fahreddin Pasha,
the Ottoman governor of Medina between 1916 and 1919, had committed crimes
against local Arabs and stolen their property.
"These are Erdogan's ancestors and their past with the
Arabs," the tweet said.
The city, which houses the Prophet Muhammad's tomb and is revered by
Muslims, was ruled by the Ottomans until they were defeated by the British and
their Arab allies in World War I.
While Fahreddin Pasha was defending Medina, you miserable ones who slander us, where were your ancestors?-----PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN
Kalin responded immediately, directly admonishing Abdullah bin Zayed
for sharing the post, which he said aimed to turn Turks and Arabs against one
another.
"It was Fahreddin Pasha who bravely defended Medina against the
British plans then," he wrote.
Erdogan's remarks during a speech on Wednesday went a step further:
"While Fahreddin Pasha was defending Medina, you miserable ones who
slander us, where were your ancestors?" He asked.
The spat marks a new low point in relations between Turkey and the Arab
Gulf state, with Ankara throwing its support behind Qatar after it was subject
to a blockade and other punitive measures by four Arab states, including the
UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt.
The Arab quartet accuses Doha of supporting "extremism" and
their regional rival Iran, a charge Qatar vehemently rejects.
President #Erdogan goes after #UAE FM @ABZayed & says:— SaadAbedine (@SaadAbedine) December 20, 2017
- It is clear that you know nothing about our ancestors.
- The Arab peoples are our brothers but there are SOME rulers in the Arab world who keep targeting #Turkey to cover up their weakness & even hide their treachery https://t.co/wdTiq93bwk
Turkey has built a military base in Qatar and deployed soldiers there,
as well as supporting the Arab Gulf state with necessary products blocked from
entering by the four countries.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS
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