Turkey Ex-President Reacts to Successor's Accusations

ANKARA (AP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reportedly reacted to his predecessor's accusations about the country's flawed foreign policy.

Date: 14 July 2015 - 21:27

News ID: ۱۶۱۰۹

Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman described Erdogan's Sunday remarks about abuse of power by some former government officials as a veiled criticism directed at Abdullah Gul who served as president from 2007 to 2014.
"There were certainly some who betrayed, who were overwhelmed by their ambitions, who were afraid, who became victims of their egos and who fell short of breath. We left them in their place and continued our way," Erdogan said.
The Turkish paper said these remarks were directed at Gul.
Erdogan’s remarks came following Gul's criticism that the government's foreign policy was unrealistic. Gul also urged Ankara to revise its policies with regard to the Middle East and Arab countries.
Erdogan and Gul are both founders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The two allies started parting ways last year when Erdogan was elected president and tried to isolate Gul by naming Ahmet Davutoglu as his prime minister.
Davutoglu, viewed as Turkey's foreign policy spin doctor, introduced the "zero problems with neighbors” policy when he was serving as the country's foreign minister.
Now, Turkish media analysts say the promised policy of detente has backfired, resulting in a "zero neighbors” policy for Turkey.