Kerry: Insinuation of U.S. Role in Coup ‘False, Harmful’

Secretary of State John Kerry said late Saturday that any insinuation of U.S. involvement in Turkey's failed military coup is damaging to relations between the two countries. The coup left 265 people dead and wounded another 1,440. "He made clear that the United States would be willing to provide assistance to Turkish authorities conducting this investigation, but that public insinuations or claims about any role by the United States in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations," Kerry's spokesman, John Kirby, said, referencing a discussion between Kerry and Mevlut Cavosoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister. Turkish president Erdogan Recap Tayyip Erdogan questioned the relationship between the countries, adding, "If we are strategic partners, then listen to your partner and do what we say. We gave you whatever terrorist you demanded. Now, give us the person that is on our terror list."