DAVOS, Switzerland – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stalked off the stage at the World Economic Forum red-faced after a sharp exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres over the fighting in Gaza, calling it “very wrong” and saying “many people have been killed.”
The incident came Thursday after a lengthy debate at the forum here about the recent Israeli offensive that claimed about 1,300 Palestinian lives. The packed audience, which included President Obama’s close adviser Valerie Jarrett, appeared stunned.
Erdogan tried to rebut Peres as the discussion was ending, asking the moderator, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, to let him speak once more.
“Only a minute,” Ignatius replied. Erdogan said in Turkish that “I remember two former prime ministers in your country who said they felt very happy when they were able to enter Palestine on tanks.” “I find it very sad that people applaud what you said. There have been many people killed. And I think that it is very wrong and it is not humanitarian,” he said.
Ignatius said, “We can’t start the debate again. We just don’t have time.”
Erdogan said “Please let me finish.”
Ignatius responded “We really do need to get people to dinner.”
The Turkish premier then said, “Thank you very much.Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I don’t think I will come back to Davos after this.”
The confrontation saw Peres and Ergodan raise their voice – highly unusual at the elite gathering of corporate and world leaders, which is usually marked by learned consensus seeking a polite dialogue.
Peres later apologized by telephone to Erdogan, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Simon Peres spoke to Erdogan for five minutes and apologized, according to the the news agency.
Afterward, World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab huddled with Erdogan in a corner of the Congress Center.
Erdiogan is complaining about what? Instead of sticking its nose in middle east conflicts and trying to play a role, he should have looked about the problems Turkey had created in the past decades, starting from occupation of Cyprus and killing of 5000 people, that was not humanitarian as well
The incident at Davos debate reflects a few things. The News Media Corporation of America in action again. A Jewish moderator giving 20 minutes to Mr. Peres so he can bully the audience to justify the atrocities. While interrupting repeatedly the turkish PM from speaking. His frustration is totaly justified. Because he, like many many citizen’s of the world is sick of lies, deceive, and terror committed by the zionist gangs and their supporters in the US congress and the Media Corporation of America.