"The only ones responsible for our police officers who were injured in the vandal attacks, the shop owners whose windows were broken, and the damaged public property are the main opposition leader and his associates."

This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the end of a government meeting at the presidential residence, Anatolian News Agency reported.

His words came amid ongoing mass protests that came in response to the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a major contender for the presidency.

Erdogan announced the representatives of Imamoglu's People's Republican Party (CHP) that instead of responding to the corruption accusations against the Istanbul mayor, they "made the most disgusting and illegal statements in our political history."

He called on the NDP to stop disturbing the peace of Turkish citizens with provocations. The Turkish president also said it was "quite possible that Turkish-US relations will gain a different momentum in Mr Trump's second term".

"During our cordial meeting, we discussed many important issues with Mr Trump, including the removal of all obstacles to our $100 billion trade target," the Turkish leader added.

He stressed that "the heated debates of recent weeks have shown that European security is not possible without Turkey".

"It has begun to be openly acknowledged that Europe needs our country not only in terms of security, but also in many areas, from economics to diplomacy, from trade to social life. Turkey is ready to develop its relations with European countries and the EU within the framework of common interests and mutual respect," Erdogan stressed. | BGNES