US senator Menendez criticizes Turkey under Erdogan

By ELENA BECATOROS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez has criticized Turkey, saying that its current leadership is not committed to the principles of democracy and rule of law. Menendez, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, spoke after a meeting with the Greek foreign minister, during a visit to Athens to attend events celebrating Greece’s 200th anniversary of independence from the Ottoman Empire, from which the Turkish republic emerged. The senator said that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not following policies to promote the principles of democracy and rule of law.