Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed he would wash his hands of Joe Biden if reports that the US vice president blamed Turkey in part for the rise of the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) were true.
On Thursday, Biden said his “old friend” Erdogan had admitted to making a mistake in allowing foreign fighters to cross the Turkish border into Syria.
“You were right. We let too many people through.' Now they're trying to seal their border," Biden quoted Erdogan as saying.
In comments to reporters in Istanbul after morning prayers for Eid al-Adha – Feast of the Sacrifice – in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan aggressively refuted Biden’s remarks.
"If Biden told these words, then he will be history to me. I never uttered such remarks," Turkish daily Hurriyet cites Erdogan as saying.
Speaking back on his time as prime minister, Erdogan said his government had not provided “even the smallest amount of support” to the IS or any other terrorist organization.
“Nobody can prove it. Foreign fighters never crossed from Turkey to Syria. There were people coming to Turkey as tourists and went to Syria, but nobody can suggest that they were armed while crossing the border," Erdoğan said.
"I view [Biden's remarks] with regret. I never admitted any mistake, nor did we tell them that they 'were right' during my visit to the US. If Mr. Biden uttered these remarks at Harvard, he should apologize. I'm saying this clearly. And we won't accept slender, indirect explanations," Erdogan said.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu added it was “impossible” to accept Biden’s remarks, adding that it is Turkey which has borne the brunt of the Syrian refugee crisis.
"All the US authorities and Biden very well know that Turkey, on its own, has hosted millions of refugees for four years,” Hurriyet cites the Turkish PM as saying.
“If all the warnings that Turkey made had been taken into consideration, [the IS] would not be an issue today."
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