Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared live on CNN Turk via FaceTime on the presenter’s cell phone, saying the ongoing military coup in the country “will be overcome” and calling on people to protest.
Erdogan has urged the nation to come out to the “squares and airports,” saying that no force can stand the power of the people.
Reassuring the audience that he still is the president of Turkey and its commander-in-chief, Erdogan has described the situation as an attempted uprising by a minority in the army.
According to Reuters, the coup attempt occurred when Erdogan was on vacation outside the country. In his TV appearance, the president said he was returning to the Turkish capital of Ankara.
The authorities would take all “necessary steps,” he said, adding that he didn’t believe the coup backers would succeed.
There have been unconfirmed reports that Erdogan’s plane has been diverted inside the country, but airports in the Turkish capital had already been closed by the military with all flights diverted.
NBC News reported that Erdogan’s aircraft has been denied permission to land in Istanbul, citing a source in the US military.
The latest report claims that the Turkish president is seeking asylum in Germany.
“Military coup in Turkey comes after green signal from the intelligence service in the US to get rid of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party”, said sources from Brussels to the European RadioOsten.
