US Embassy denies report claiming US involvement in HDP's election strategy

In strong words, the U.S. Embassy in Turkey has strictly ruled out a newspaper report which claimed that election campaign strategy of the Kurdish problem-focused opposition party was determined at a meeting at the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul.

The British Embassy, meanwhile, denied a claim by a columnist in Star newspaper that the British state had closed down a newspaper at the time. 

"Star newspaper's claim today (Oct. 30, 2015) that the HDP's [the Peoples' Democratic Party] election campaign strategy was determined at a meeting at the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul is false. The paper's insinuation that the United States is conspiring against the Turkish government or to influence the outcome of elections in Turkey is also an outright lie," said a written statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara on Oct. 30.
 
"To be clear: there is no coordination between the United States government and any political party in Turkey. We work with any government formed by representatives democratically elected by the Turkish people. Star claims in its bogus article that its rival media organizations were part of their imagined plot.

Sadly, both the U.S. Mission in Turkey and independent media organizations have been the targets of extremist violence in the recent past. In this context, Star's false claims are especially despicable and potentially dangerous," the embassy said.
 
"The United States firmly supports freedom of the press and freedom of expression, even the freedom to print fabrications and false claims. But, Star's readers need to be told that today's report is made up of nothing more than lies and dark insinuations, and that the United States remains as ever a committed ally to Turkey and a friend to the...