International

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the United States of trying to punish and compromise Ankara over its refusal to act the way Washington wants it to.
     "They [the United States] are trying to punish, condemn and compromise us because we do not stick to their scripts, which are obvious and are being carried out through their co-authors in our country," Erdogan said in a speech aired by the NTV broadcaster on Sunday.
     The president, speaking to activists of ruling Justice and Development Party in the east of the country, said that the United States was acting inside Turkey with the help of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen's movement, referred to as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) by Ankara.
     Erdogan also accused Washington of backing the Kurdistan Workers' Party, considered a terrorist organization in Turkey.