Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that the US has been pressuring him since his first day as minister. Soylu's statements were cited Tuesday night by Hurriyet.
"From the first month I came to the interior ministry, America started pressuring me. They said they wanted the biometric and identification data of Syrians [stationed in Turkey]. But I told them I wouldn't give them that information, and I didn't give them anything," Soylu said.
According to the minister, the US is trying to stop Turkey's development and make it regress and be defeated. But this, he said, will not happen when "President Tayyip Erdogan is at the helm."
Soylu has previously repeatedly criticized the US and the West in general. In late April, he said that the United States and Europe, in light of the May 14 parliamentary and presidential elections, had instructed the Turkish opposition to oust President Tayyip Erdogan.
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Based on materials from TASS