ISTANBUL: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused US counterpart Barack Obama of going behind his back for criticizing Turkey’s press freedom record and linked it to efforts to “divide” Turkey, media reports said on Sunday.

Obama said on Friday after meeting Erdogan on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in Washington that he was troubled by curbs on the press in Turkey and said he had urged Erdogan not to repress democratic debate in his country.

Turkey has charged two journalists with treason for publishing footage that purportedly showed the intelligence agency shipping truckloads of weapons to opposition fighters in Syria in early 2014. Can Dundar and Erdem Gul of Cumhuriyet face life in prison.

“I was saddened to hear that statement made behind my back. During my talk with Obama, those issues did not come up,” Erdogan told reporters, according to Hurriyet daily. He returned to Turkey after a five-day trip to Washington on Sunday.

“You cannot consider insults and threats press freedom or criticism,” Erdogan said.

Separately, Erdogan said the US and Turkey had edged closer in their stances on Syrian Kurds, close US allies in the fight against Daesh. Turkey sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and its political arm, the PYD, as part of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against Turkey. US officials have said they distinguish between the groups.

Both Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry promised Erdogan during meetings they would not allow the formation of a PYD-run state in Syria, the Turkish leader said.