CHISINAU. Oct 17 (Interfax) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Moldova that "Turkish terrorists" are trying to infiltrate its government institutions.
"In the coup attempt in Turkey [in 2016], 251 people were killed, and many others were injured. Unfortunately, members of this terrorist organization infiltrated our state institutions. Members of this organization are continuing to act, including in Moldova. They are trying to infiltrate your country's institutions in order to do what they did in our country. We believe that, as your friends, we must warn you about this," Erdogan said at a joint news briefing with Moldovan President Igor Dodon following their bilateral meeting on Wednesday.
Dodon did not reply to or comment on this statement.
Both presidents spoke in favor of deepening cooperation and establishing a strategic partnership between the two countries. They signed an agreement on setting up a council for strategic cooperation.
Erdogan was apparently referring to the movement led by Fethullah Gulen. According to the media, he believes that teachers of a network of Moldovan-Turkish high school that have been operating in Moldova for more than 20 years belong to the movement. Two years ago, the schools were transformed into the Orizont (Horizon) network.
Moldova expelled seven Turkish citizens working for Orizont on September 6. The Moldovan Information and Security Service said they were "suspected of being linked to an Islamist group known to be involved in illegal activities in a number of countries."
This met with the public's outrage and opposition protests. One was held near the Turkish embassy in Chisinau on Wednesday.
Dodon told journalists last week that he intended to discuss the future of the expelled Turkish citizens with Erdogan. Nothing was said about this at the news briefing, and journalists had no chance to ask the presidents questions.