Erdoğan did not claim Trump apologized for Washington brawl: Spokesperson

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not claim that U.S. President Donald Trump apologized to him over a brawl involving Turkish security officers, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın stated on Sept. 21.

“President Erdoğan didn’t say President Trump ‘apologized’ to him but he said he was ‘saddened’ by what happened. That is the correct translation,” Kalın said in a tweet.

Following a translated interview with Erdoğan, U.S. TV show PBS NewsHour reported that the Turkish president had said Trump had “said he was sorry” for the incident in May, in which Erdoğan’s security detail brawled with protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington.      

The Sept. 19 report prompted the White House to deny that Trump had made such an apology during a telephone call between the leaders.

Following the May 16 confrontation during Erdoğan’s previous visit to the U.S., a grand jury indicted 19 people, including 15 Turkish security guards.      

Erdoğan condemned the indictment after it was announced earlier this month, saying “it is clearly a scandalous sign of how justice works in America.”