Turkey Interview: Prime Minister Erdoğan on Syria, His Political Future, and Imprisoned Journalists

In this two-part video from an interview with Christiane Amanpour of CNN, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is forthright about Syria, declaring that President Assad is "politically a deceased person" and claiming that the US elections are holding Washington back from necessary intervention.

There is a brief discussion of the Islamic world amid the "Arab Spring" and of the wearing of the headscarf. Amanpour also asks Erdoğan if he will run for President and moves from that to discuss rights and imprisoned journalists in Turkey --- Erdogan replies, "Whatever is being said to you...is mere attacks to obscure our party and our Government."

Notably, there is no discussion of the Kurdish issue, although this may be shown in the extended footage on CNN on Friday.