Turkish politicians slam Biden's past 'interventionist' remarks

Recently recirculated remarks by presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden about Turkey garnered harsh criticism from Turkish politicians, blaming the former American vice president of meddling into the country's internal issues.

Biden held an interview with a group of New York Times (NYT) editors in December 2019 and the transcript was published a month later, in January 2020. Biden's comments resurfaced in a video that made him the most popular topic on Twitter in Turkey this week.

During the interview, Biden referred to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as an "autocrat," and mentioned, "... the Kurdish population who wanted to participate in the process in their Parliament."

In Turkey, all political parties which pass the 10% electoral threshold, including the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), participate in the Turkish Parliament, and all political parties can engage in Turkey's democratic elections.

Biden also implied that he would push the U.S. to directly get involved in the internal affairs of Turkey. He said, "What I think we should be doing is taking a very different approach to him (Erdoğan) now, making it clear that we support opposition leadership. I'm still of the view that if we were to engage more directly like I was doing with them, that we can support those elements of the Turkish leadership that still exist and get more from them and embolden them to be able to take on and defeat Erdoğan. Not by a coup, not by a coup, but by the electoral process."

Biden also said that Erdoğan "has to pay a price," adding that "... they got to understand that we're not going to continue to play with them the way we have."

Since it went viral on social media this week, the former vice president's remarks have attracted growing criticism from Turkish people, including high-ranking politicians.

In response, the Turkish president's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said the comments "reflect games and an interventionist approach towards Turkey" and are inconsistent with current diplomatic relations.

"Nobody can attack our nation's will and democracy or question the legitimacy of our president, who was elected by popular vote," Altun said on Twitter, noting the failed coup in Turkey in 2016.

"We believe that these unbecoming statements which have no place in diplomacy by a presidential candidate from our NATO ally, the United States, are unacceptable to the current administration too," he added.

Turkish Interior Ministry spokesman İsmail Çataklı also commented on the interview Saturday and warned Biden not to consider Turkey as a colonial extension of the U.S.

Main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) former presidential candidate, Muharrem İnce also criticized Biden, saying overseeing the change of governments "was not his job but the Turkish nation's."

Gürsel Tekin, senior CHP lawmaker from Istanbul, tagged Biden in a tweet and said his party "does not need, want or accept any foreign aid to win an election. As Atatürk said: "Independence is our character." Every political actor including the US must respect the sovereignty and independence of the Turkish nation."