Turkish leaders including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed Israel and its supporters for what they said was international media hostility to the country’s ruling party.
“This international media, as they are supported by Israel, would not be happy with the continuation of the AKP government,” the Turkish Daily News quoted Erdogan as saying this week. “Of course, they have their hands on Turkey nowadays.”
Erdogan was responding to The Economist’s endorsement of the opposition party ahead of next week’s elections.
The respected British newsweekly cited Erdogan’s crackdown on the media among other reasons to push back against what it said were his repressive measures.
Another minister, Egemen Bagıs, described “international dark elites who control the international media.”
