Rubio didn’t raise U.S. concerns over Turkey protests as stated, Turkish source says

ANKARA (Reuters): U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not express concerns about arrests and protests in Turkey in the way he stated in a social media post after meeting his Turkish counterpart in Washington, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Wednesday.

Rubio and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on Tuesday, after which a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said the NATO allies voiced a mutual will to lift restrictions on defence industry cooperation.

The visit comes amid the biggest anti-government protests in Turkey in over a decade, triggered by the detention and subsequent arrest, pending trial, of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is President Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival.

After the meeting with Fidan, Rubio said on X: “I expressed concerns regarding recent arrests and protests in Türkiye”.

But the source denied that Rubio had voiced concerns quite like that. “The issue was touched upon in a different way than how it was reflected in the social media post,” said the source, who requested anonymity and declined to elaborate.

Ankara believes Rubio’s message was prepared ahead of the talks, the person said, describing the talks as “very positive” and reflecting “the mutual respect between the two countries”.

The U.S. embassy in Ankara did not immediately comment on Rubio’s talks with Fidan.

Turkish opposition parties, human rights groups and European leaders have said the judicial moves against Istanbul’s mayor are politically motivated and anti-democratic – charges Erdogan’s government denies.

Ankara is seeking warmer ties with Washington under President Donald Trump and is looking to capitalise on his past good relationship with Erdogan.

The administration of former President Joe Biden kept Turkey at arm’s length over what it saw as Ankara’s close relations with Moscow, whereas Trump views Russia much more favorably.

Fidan was expected in his talks with Rubio to urge the U.S. to remove sanctions on Turkey over a past purchase of Russian missile defences, and let it back into a key fighter jet program.