Baku – APA. The EU and US united Monday in calling for Turkey to uphold democratic principles as it responds to a failed coup attempt over the weekend, Politico Europe newspaper reported.
Speaking after a meeting with the EU’s 28 foreign ministers, US Secretary of State John Kerry urged the Turkish government to “maintain calm and stability throughout the country,” and “to uphold the highest standards of respect for [the nation’s] democratic institutions and the rule of law.”
Kerry and the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, both said they were concerned about the Turkish government’s crackdown on the alleged coup plotters — which included thousands of arrests of officials and military leaders and the possibility, raised by Erdogan over the weekend, that the country would reinstate the death penalty.
Kerry also warned that the NATO alliance, of which Turkey is a member, “has a requirement with respect to democracy and NATO will indeed measure very carefully what is happening.”
EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini also warned that no country can become an EU member that has capital punishment.
“No country can become an EU member state if it introduces the death penalty,” she said. “Turkey is an important part of the Council of Europe and is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, which is very clear on the death penalty.”
She also said the EU called for “the full observance of Turkey’s constitutional order and rule of law.”
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