Erdogan Accuses US of Attempts to Punish Turkey over Ankara's Independence

"They [the United States] are trying to punish, condemn and compromise us because we do not stick to their scripts, which are obvious and are being carried out through their co-authors in our country," Erdogan said in a speech aired by the NTV broadcaster on Sunday.

The president, speaking to activists of ruling Justice and Development Party in the east of the country, said that the United States was acting inside Turkey with the help of Fethullah Gulen's movement, referred to as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) by Ankara.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement to reporters alongside US President Donald Trump after their meeting at the White House in Washington, US May 16, 2017.

Erdogan also accused Washington of backing the Kurdistan Workers' Party, considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, Sputnik reported.

The president said that criminal cases against Turkish citizens in the United States were part of the general scenario aimed at splitting the Turkish society.

"All of these attempts will end in failure," Erdogan said.