“It is sad to see members of the US Congress and government officials perpetuate one-sided views on Turkish politics. Distorted and deeply distorted reports of our administration’s policies and approaches have unfortunately become a staple of congressional hearings,” Fahrettin Altun said in a tweet specifically aimed at Senator Robert Menendez, who is the chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

It is sad to see members of the US Congress and administration officials perpetuate one-sided views on Turkish politics. Distorted and deeply erroneous descriptions of our government’s policies and approaches have, unfortunately, become the main product of hearings in the US Congress.

— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) March 24, 2023

“Turkey does not violate the territorial waters or airspace of other countries. Some of our neighbors exhibit this behavior and we always respond accordingly. We will not allow violations of our sovereignty. Turkey never violates the sovereignty of other countries, including drilling in their exclusive economic zones,” continued the Director of Public Relations of the Turkish Presidency.

“The culprit here is the long-standing Cyprus issue, which the EU has made almost impossible to resolve. Turkey has constantly sought to purchase weapons systems from NATO allies, including the United States. We only turned to other suppliers when US congressional committees, often chaired by Senator Menendez, made it incredibly difficult.

Your accusations of imprisonment of lawyers and journalists, as well as political opponents before the elections, are baseless and misleading. These people are accused of crimes (such as terrorism) not related to their profession,” notes F. Altun and continues:

“Failure to comply with EU sanctions against Russia is not a violation of international agreements that Turkey has signed. You may have forgotten that Turkey is not a member of the EU. We have also provided Ukraine with more humanitarian aid than many EU countries.”

“You are right that Turkey is launching airstrikes on the YPG/PKK, the “US partners” as you call them, in Iraq and Syria,” Fahrettin Altun notes, accusing the US of “supporting a terrorist organization that is fighting Turkish troops.” . state for over 40 years.

“We did not hinder the expansion of NATO. At the very least, we have been strong supporters of NATO expansion, having supported the entry of Georgia and Ukraine in the past. By asking Finland and Sweden to fight terrorism, we have sought to protect our common security. The Turkish parliament has just approved Finland’s entry and Sweden may soon do so by tightening its anti-terrorism laws,” the Turkish president’s director of public relations said in a statement.

“We are not the conquerors of Cyprus, as you say, but we are defending the Turkish Cypriots. The reason why this problem is perpetuated is because of the short-sighted decision of the EU. to accept Cyprus as a member despite its disputed borders,” Mr. Altun notes and continues: “Our government has made the most progress in granting rights and freedoms to religious minorities. If anyone has any doubts about this, they can simply go and ask the Christians and other minorities living in Turkey.”

According to F. Altun: “The restoration of Hagia Sophia as a mosque is our national sovereign decision”, while “the legal proceedings against members of the field personnel employed by the US diplomatic missions in Turkey concern the prosecution of those responsible for the treacherous attempt coup d’état in our country, whoever they are.”

“We are disappointed and, frankly, tired of hearing all these distortions and false statements about our country. We believe that the US is a difficult ally in some of its regional and NATO relations, including our own.

We call on US politicians and leaders to put aside their prejudice against our country and to give a fair and realistic assessment of the outstanding issues. Despite widespread misconceptions in Washington, we are always ready to cooperate on issues of mutual interest,” concludes the Communications Director of the Turkish Presidency.