Angered by the senator’s “hammering”, Ankara appears Bob Menendez to Congress for its intransigent policies.

As reported by SKAI’s correspondent in Constantinople, Manolis Kostidis, Erdogan’s communications director Fahrettin Altun he defiantly replied to Senator Menendez, showing how angry Ankara has become. As he claimed, Turkey does not violate the territorial waters or airspace of other countries. “Some of our neighbors have exhibited this type of behavior and we always respond appropriately. We will not allow a violation of our sovereignty”, he says, leaving points for Greece, without however naming it.

For Erdoğan’s “right hand”, others are always to blame, the United States and the European Union. “The USA is a difficult ally” he says characteristically in a barrage of his tweets, while regarding the Cyprus problem he calls the EU…guilty.

“It’s sad to see members of the US Congress and US government officials to perpetuate one-sided views about Turkey’s policies. Distorted and deeply flawed accounts of our government’s policies and approaches have unfortunately become a staple of US Congressional hearings. Let’s get straight to the point the primaries to Senator Menendez» he states mockingly.

“Turkey does not violate the territorial waters or airspace of other countries. Some of our neighbors have exhibited this type of behavior and we always respond appropriately. We will not allow our sovereignty to be violated. Turkey never violates the sovereignty of other countries, including drilling in their Exclusive Economic Zones, as you otherwise claim Senator Menendez.”

“The long-standing Cyprus issue, the resolution of which has become almost impossible, the EU is the culprit here. Turkey has consistently sought to procure weapons systems from NATO allies, including the US. We only turned to other suppliers when US congressional committees, often led by you Senator Menendez, made it incredibly difficult.”

“Your accusations of imprisoning lawyers and journalists as well as political opponents before the elections are baseless and misleading. These people are accused of crimes (such as terrorism) that are not related to their profession.”

“Not joining the EU sanctions against Russia is not a violation of international agreements that Turkey has signed. Perhaps you have forgotten that Turkey is not a member of the EU. Also, we have provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine more than many EU countries,” added Erdogan’s “right-hand man”.

“You are right that Turkey is conducting airstrikes against the YPG/PKK, “US partners” as you call them, in Iraq and Syria. The US supports a terrorist organisation which has been fighting the Turkish state for more than 40 years. We will not back down in our fight against them” declares the Turkish official.

“We did not prevent the enlargement of NATO. If nothing else, we have been strong supporters of NATO enlargement by supporting the accession of Georgia and Ukraine in the past,” he comments on the issue of Sweden and Finland.

“In asking Finland and Sweden to fight terrorism we sought to protect our common security. The Turkish parliament has just approved Finland’s membership, and Sweden may get there soon by tightening its anti-terror laws,” he argues.

“We are not conquerors in Cyprus as you claim, but we are protecting the Turkish Cypriots. The reason this issue perpetuates is the myopic decision of the EU to accept Cyprus as a member despite its disputed borders” he declares.

According to Altun, “our government has made the most progress in granting rights and freedoms to religious minorities. If anyone has any doubts about this, they can just go and ask the Christians and other minorities living in Turkey.”

“The restoration of Hagia Sophia (-Ayasofya) as a mosque is our national sovereign decision. The legal proceedings against members of the field staff employed by the US diplomatic missions in Turkey are about prosecuting the perpetrators of a treasonous coup attempt in our country, whoever they are.”

“We are disappointed and frankly tired of hearing all these misrepresentations and false claims about our country by Senator Menendez and Minister Blinken. We find that the US is a difficult ally in several of their regional and NATO relationships, including our own.”

“We call on US politicians and leaders to abandon their prejudices about our country and adopt a fair and realistic assessment of the outstanding issues. Despite the misconceptions that are commonplace in Washington, we are always ready to cooperate on issues of mutual interest,” concludes Altun.