Turkey slams Czech statements on Turkish president

ANKARA

Turkey on Thursday blasted “baseless” allegations made about the nation’s president by his Czech counterpart.

“We do not accept and strongly condemn the misleading, false, and baseless statements of Czech President Milos Zeman regarding our country and our president,” Hami Aksoy, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a statement.

“It is also noteworthy that a head of state, who is expected to be in charge, deliberately made false statements,” said Aksoy, adding that the Czech president should seek to sway public opinion on the basis of objective information rather than misleading statements.

The baseless allegations could damage the traditional friendship and alliance between Turkey and the Czech Republic, he warned.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar