Obama Urges Restraint as Erdogan Widens Purge

Foreign Policy: President Barack Obama on Tuesday appealed to Turkey to uphold the “rule of law” as it investigates suspected plotters behind a failed military coup. But the plea for restraint likely will fall on deaf ears, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presses ahead with a sweeping purge of Turkey’s government, military, security services, and universities in the aftermath of last week’s putsch.

In a phone call to Erdogan, Obama reiterated his condemnation of a bid last week by a faction in the military to overthrow Ankara’s elected government and praised the Turkish people’s “commitment to democracy,” the White House said in a statement.

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