The State Department on Monday declined to give a public defense of U.S. officials accused of “aggressive and unprofessional” behavior by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Turkish officials used those terms to describe U.S. security personnel who arrived on the scene of Turkish officials attacking protesters outside the Turkish embassy last week. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security team in Washington, D.C. was caught on video beating protesters against his government, an incident that provoked a State Department rebuke and condemnation from several U.S. lawmakers.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also summoned U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass to appear for a formal dressing-down.
“A written and verbal protest was delivered due to the aggressive and unprofessional actions taken, contrary to diplomatic rules and practices, by U.S. security personnel towards the close protection team [of the Turkish ambassador],” the Foreign Ministry said. “It has been formally requested that the U.S. authorities conduct a full investigation of this diplomatic incident and provide the necessary explanation.”
But when asked if the U.S. agrees with Turkey’s stance that U.S. security personnel were “aggressive and unprofessional,” the State Department declined to answer.
“We’re not going to detail the specifics of our diplomatic conversations,” a State Department official told the Washington Examiner. Instead, the department reiterated that the violence seen against protesters outside Turkey’s embassy was unacceptable.
“We can confirm the Turkish Foreign Ministry convoked our Ambassador to Turkey to discuss the violent incidents involving protesters and Turkish security personnel on May 16,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Monday. “As we noted previously, the conduct of Turkish security personnel last week was deeply disturbing. The State Department has raised its concerns about those events at the highest levels.”
Last week, four Republican senators joined in to protest the violence seen at Turkey’s embassy.
“We call upon the Turkish government to apologize immediately for the involvement of any officials,” Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah and Marco Rubio of Florida said last week.
It’s an unpleasant addition to an already-tense relationship for the United States, which is trying to work with an increasingly authoritarian Erdogan to defeat ISIS in Syria, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to warm up relations with the NATO ally. The Turkish side seems willing to flout U.S. frustration over the incident, without letting it undermine cooperation on other issues.
“[I]t was emphasized that the lapses of security experienced during our president’s stay in Washington, which were caused by the inability of U.S. authorities to take sufficient precautions at every stage of the official program, will not overshadow what in every other aspect was a very successful and important visit,” the Foreign Ministry said in Monday’s statement.
