Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is known for his tough stand on policy matters today sought forgiveness from his countrymen for his past alliance with US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.
Turkey blames Gulen for last month's attempted military coup in the country.
Erdogan conceded that had failed to see the "true face" of Gulen. Erdogen had cooperated closely with the Turkish strongman while he was mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s and after his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002.
"Despite everything, I feel sad that I failed to reveal the true face of this traitor organisation long before," Erdogan said in a televised speech.
"I know that we have to give account both to our God and to our people. Let my God and my people forgive us," he added.
Ergoden accused Gulen of running the biggest theft ring in history which hijacked the past and future of tens of thousands of people.
"From now on, anyone who lends an ear to the raving of that charlatan — that terrorist chief in Pennsylvania — has accepted what's coming to them. From this moment, the era of suspicion is over and the era of fighting has started,” he said.
