Erdogan apologizes for failure to prevent coup

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized "to God and the people" for his inability to prevent a recent coup attempt in the country.

"If it weren't for the measures that we took after December 17, 2013, the attempted military coup would have been more ambitious. It would have involved not only the terrorists who entered the army, but their supporters in the police, courts and officials. Despite this, I am still disappointed that the true traitors were not identified beforehand. We are responsible for this. May God and my people forgive us," Sputnik cited Erdogan as saying.

Any doubts about Gulen's involvement in the coup attempt "have been left behind," but some people still believe the Islamic preacher has nothing to do with the coup, he noted.