ISTANBUL (AA) – Scarcely two days after emerging victorious over an attempted military coup, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Saudi Arabia’s king on the phone on Sunday, according to presidential sources.
During the conversation, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud offered his condolences to Erdogan and the Turkish people for the losses suffered in Friday’s failed coup, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.
Voicing Saudi Arabia’s support for Turkey’s democratically elected government, King Salman said the peace, stability, and security of Turkey is important for the entire region.
Erdogan thanked the monarch for his support, while Salman said they stand in full solidarity with Turkey.
The failed coup is said to have been organized by followers of U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, who is accused of pursuing a long-running campaign to overthrow the government through infiltrating the Turkish state, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming the so-called “parallel state.”
Friday night, rogue military elements attempted to overthrow Turkey’s democratically elected government by force. Before the coup was defeated, around 160 people were martyred in the ensuing violence.
Some 2,839 military personnel involved in the coup attempt have been arrested, and 20 pro-coup soldiers, including some senior officers, were martyred in the attempt to overthrow the government.
Turkey accuses Gulen of being behind the coup and called for him to return to Turkey to face justice.