Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Thursday accused pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş of “treason” for criticizing the downing of a Russian jet by Turkish F-16s near the Syrian border last month.
Demirtaş, visited Moscow on Wednesday and met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for talks. Speaking at the start of the meeting, he said the downing of the Russian warplane was “not right.”
“They take sides with whoever Turkey is facing a crisis with. Demirtaş saying in Moscow that Turkey’s downing of Russian jet was wrong is a total disgrace and treason,” Davutoğlu told a meeting of businessmen in Ankara.
“Our main duty is to raise our voice against Russian cruelty. Supporting Russia while it kills civilians in Syria is treason not only against this country, but also against humanity.”
Responding to Davutoğlu, the HDP said the prime minister’s remarks are “unacceptable.”