Threat from President Erdoğan to cut ties with US over jailing of Turkish banker

It is reported that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to cut bilateral agreements between his country and the US after denouncing America’s justice system. A U.S. court convicted a Turkish banker on Wednesday following a trial that included testimony of corruption by top Turkish officials. In his first public comments on the verdict, Mr Erdogan cast the case as a US plot to undermine the government and economy of Turkey – a key Nato ally.

“If this is the U.S. understanding of justice, then the world is doomed,” Mr Erdogan told a news conference before his departure to France for an official visit. He continued: “The bilateral accords between us are losing their validity. I am saddened to say this, but this is how it will be from now on.”

The trial saw a jury convict Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive at Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank, of evading Iran sanctions.

Some of the court testimony implicated senior Turkish officials, including Mr Erdogan. Ankara said the case was based on fabricated evidence.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-erdogan-us-justice-world-doomed-corruption-banker-case-trump-a8143586.html