Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş on Friday denied the claims that the failed 2016 coup attempt in the country had been controlled by Ankara and praised the Turkish people for refuting the putsch.
"That was not a controlled coup attempt, but it was coup attempt which was averted by the Turkish people", Kurtulmuş told reporters at the press conference dedicated to the anniversary of July 15, 2016, failed coup attempt. He stressed that the Turkish authorities were trying to find the supporters of the Gulen movement which is considered to be behind the coup attempt and ruled out any unfair prosecutions.
"Our aim is to find those who have links with this organisation and is supporting this organisation. We are trying to purge those. We do not want to make any unfair treatment," Kurtulmuş said.
U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen was one of the masterminds of the failed coup attempt.
