Turkey: Opposition leader slams gov't over UAE crown prince's Turkey visit

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - The leader of Turkey's main opposition party on Tuesday criticized the government over last week's visit by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

"The huge Republic of Turkey invited those who financed the July 15 (2016) coup attempt, those who gave money (for the coup attempt), those who provided opportunity, by rolling out red and turquoise carpets," Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), told his party's parliamentary group.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Kilicdaroglu also claimed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would seek to purchase leading Turkish defense firms.

Addressing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, he said: “If you confiscate the army's Havelsan, Roketsan, and Aselsan, if you sell them, I will put you through the wringer," he said.

Erdogan on Wednesday met in Ankara with Al Nahyan and discussed bilateral relations.

This is his first official visit to Turkey since 2012, and the first top-level meeting between the UAE and Turkey in recent years.