MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The G20 summit in Turkey scheduled for November may be cancelled if a major crackdown on media outlets takes place in the country, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said Friday.
On Tuesday, Fuat Avni, a famous Turkish whistleblower, wrote on Twitter that President Erdogan gave the order for a massive crackdown on critical media outlets ahead of the parliamentary election scheduled for November.
Babacan met with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu following Avni's claims, the Cumhuriyet news outlet reported.
According to the article, Davutoglu said the claims of possible media crackdown were not credible, however Babacan expressed his concern, recalling that President Erdogan had in the past hinted at the possibility of closing down certain media outlets.
Turkey is expected to host the summit of G20 leaders in the Mediterranean city of Antalya on November 15-16.
On Monday, Erdogan called early elections after the Justice and Development Party (AK party) led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu failed to reach an agreement with other parliamentary parties to form a coalition government within the time allowed by the country's constitution.