World leaders express their support for Turkish authorities

World leaders expressed support for Turkey and its democratic institutions on Saturday after the government quashed an attempted military coup.

The European Union's foreign affairs chief said it is "indispensable" that Turkey regain stability, following the failed coup.

The Italian news agency ANSA on Saturday further quoted Federica Mogherini as telling it and another Italian agency AGI in a joint interview that it is imperative that "a dangerous spiral of violence" isn't fueled.

Mogherini was also quoted as calling on Turkey to respect the law, rule of law and democratic conventions, calling them "binding and inalienable principles" which are also the "best way to face the difficulties that Turkey is experiencing".

Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed concern about tensions in Turkey.

"The aggravation of the political situation in the context of the terrorist threats existing in the country and armed conflict in the region carry a high risk to international and regional stability," the ministry said in a statement. "We call on the government and people of Turkey to solve the existing problems without violence, to respect the constitutional order."

Tensions between Russia and Turkey have been strong since last fall when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the border with Syria. However, relations appeared to be moving toward repair after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued an apology for the incident last month.

A statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry said it respects the democratic process in Turkey and looks forward to the continued reconciliation between the countries.

Israel and Turkey recently struck a broad reconciliation pact to restore diplomatic relations after six years of animosity between the once-close Mideast powers following a deadly Israeli naval raid to stop an activist flotilla aiming to breach the Gaza blockade.

Relations between Israel and Turkey began to decline soon after Erdogan, whose party has Islamist roots, came to power in 2003.

Since then, Erdogan has sought closer ties with Muslim nations while trying to distance his country from Israel. Erdogan's close ties with Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers have further strained ties.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he had spoken to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to underline support for Turkey's "democratic, elected government and institutions."

(China Daily 07/18/2016 page12)