Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently on a visit to Beijing, said on Tuesday that all ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region lived happily, thereby rowing back on Ankara's previous rhetoric slamming the country's "internment camps" for Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2019) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently on a visit to Beijing, said on Tuesday that all ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region lived happily, thereby rowing back on Ankara's previous rhetoric slamming the country's "internment camps" for Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group."Happy life, prosperity and happiness of all peoples in China's Xinjiang is a fait accompli, the Turkish side will not allow anyone to incite a feud between China and Turkey. Turkey is strongly against radicalism, agrees with the Chinese side to increase the level of mutual political trust and strengthen security cooperation," Erdogan said at a meeting with his counterpart, Xi Jinping, as quoted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Back in February, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy claimed that more than 1 million Uyghurs "are subjected to torture and political brainwashing in internment camps and prisons" in China. Ankara urged Beijing to close all such facilities and end the policy of "eliminating the ethnic, religious and cultural identities of the Uighur Turks and other Muslim communities in the region."
Back then, Beijing protested Ankara's statements, calling them "disgusting." Soon after a harsh exchange, in early March, the Chinese Embassy in Turkey announced decision to temporarily close the Consulate General in Izmir. The diplomatic mission, however, stated that the decision had been made for a number of reasons such as "effectiveness and integration of resources."
