Turkish first lady laments weak global response to coup

NEW YORK

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan on Thursday expressed resentment for a weak international response to a recent failed coup attempt on her country.

"Some countries that we know as friends abstained from even fully condemning this open coup attempt," she said at a panel discussion hosted by the Turkish Businesswomen Association (TIKAD) at the Harvard Club in New York.

"They condemned partially, waiting to see who would be the victor after the coup. They even went as far as to say the coup attempt was fictitious," she said without providing specifics about the "mind-boggling" statements.

The first lady said the actions of friends are more important than those of enemies in times of crisis and stressed that the Turkish government solely depends on its people. "Turkey is governed by empowering the will of people,” she said.

Referring to the U.S. as "the country of immigrants," Erdogan urged Washington to take action on the refugee crisis.

"The international community has been silent to refugees," she said, and highlighted that Turkey has opened its doors to approximately 3 million refugees and has been home to more than 150,000 new-born Syrian babies.