Turkey condemns Czech president accusation it is ally of IS

Last updated: 20th March 2019 10:29 pm

NAT

1 Min Read

epa06478974 Czech President Milos Zeman celebrates his victory in the presidential election run-off in Prague, Czech Republic, 27 January 2018. Current Czech President Milos Zeman defeated former chairman of the Czech Science Academy on 27 January to become the Czech Republic's second president directly elected by citizens. Drahos received 48.47 percent of votes compared to Zeman's 51.52 percent, the statistics office in Prague reported from more than 99.5 percent of polling stations. EPA-EFE/FILIP SINGER

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Turkey has condemned Czech President Milos Zeman’s suggestion that it is an ally of the Islamic State group.

Zeman made those remarks in a debate with the public during his trip to a Czech region when answering a question about why the Turkish armed forces attack the Kurds who are fighting the Islamic militants. The Czech president said Turkey mediated help for IS to be able to export oil.

Zeman, who is known for his strong anti-Muslim rhetoric, has been critical of Turkey in the past. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis whose government is in charge of foreign policy declined to comment.

In a message to Czech media Wednesday, Turkey’s ambassador to Prague, Ahmet Necati Bigali, called Zeman’s accusation “unfortunate, unacceptable and based on unfounded accusations.”

Source: AP