Erdogan accusation of US support of coup attempt in Turkey "entirely false" - US

WASHINGTON, July 29 (KUNA) -- A White House spokesman on Friday said an assertion by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that US General Joseph Votel, of US Central Command, supported the attempted coup in Turkey earlier this month is "entirely false.
"There is no evidence of that at all," deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said during a briefing.
President Barack Obama has made clear "that there is no US involvement and no US awareness (of the coup plot) ahead of time, and speculation to the contrary is baseless," Schultz said. "Speculation along those lines ... is risky, because it puts our men and women who are serving in Turkey at risk." Obama is focused on making sure that Turkey begins to resume normal practices, "understanding how an event like this can shake a society and government," Schultz said. "The best way to do that right now is to resume their long-standing tradition and embrace of democratic institutions." The United States was one of the earliest countries to condemn the failed coup, he added. "We said that we supported President Erdogan, we expressed support for the democratic institutions, the democratically elected government of Turkey," Schultz said.
On Friday, alleging that the US supported the attempted coup, Erdogan said of the US, "You are already keeping the coup leader in your country." Erdogan was referring to the fact that the man Ankara charges with orchestrating the coup, Fethullah Gulen, has been living in the US since 1999. (end) rm.bs