Turkey condemns US over treatment of president’s bodyguards
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s Foreign Ministry lodged a formal protest Monday with the U.S. ambassador to Ankara over what it said were “lapses of security” during a violent confrontation between protesters and Turkish bodyguards during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington this month.
The summoning of the ambassador, John Bass, sharply escalated a diplomatic rift between Turkey and the United States after the brawl, which prompted outrage in the United States, as well as calls for the prosecution of the Turkish guards and even the expulsion of Turkey’s ambassador to Washington.
The melee, which was recorded by video journalists, showed what appeared to be Turkish security guards kicking and choking protesters as D.C. police struggled to contain the unrest.