Photo: AFPParis: France’s foreign minister warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday against using his country’s failed coup as a “blank cheque” to silence his opponents. Ayrault said the events of the past two days had raised questions about Turkey’s “reliability” in the fight against Islamic State. “We want the rule of law to work properly in Turkey,” Jean-Marc Ayrault told France 3 television, warning Turkey’s government against “purges”. “There’s (the question of) reliability on the one hand and, indeed, an element of suspicion on the other,” he told France 3 television. The remarks came as Turkish authorities continued a crackdown over the coup, arresting over 6,000 people accused of supporting the coup plottersTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and former Turkish president Abdullah Gul (C-R) attend the funeral of a victim of the coup attempt in Istanbul on Sunday.

Source: Mint July 17, 2016 13:07 UTC