During military coup, Turkey's President Erdogan uses Apple's FaceTime for televised iPhone interview

Turkey has been thrown into chaos after a military coup seized control of the government, declared martial law and began censoring media networks, but its president appeared on CNN TÃœRK, using Apple's FaceTime to issue a statement.

Turkish military issued an announcement on the nation's TRT state network stating that "the political administration that has lost all legitimacy has been forced to withdraw," according to a report by CNN. The military says it took the action to restore democracy and human rights.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim initially called the action an "attempted coup," then began describing it as a "mutiny."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan then made an appearance via FaceTime, speaking to a CNN TÃœRK news anchor who held an iPhone in front of the camera. Erdoğan urged citizens to "go to the streets and give them their answer."

Turkey has suffered from a series of recent terrorist attacks, and is on the frontier of war between Syria and a series of rebel groups, some of which Turkey has labeled as terror groups.

Erdoğan led Turkey as Prime Minister for ten years starting in 2003, but in 2014 was forced to take a new position as president due to term limits. He has since worked to give himself more power while serving in the largely ceremonial role of president by seeking to change the country's constitution.

Erdoğan is strictly conservative, and has worked to advance his fundamentalist religious views on the largely secular nation. He has also repeatedly attempted to restrict social media, commonly blocking access to Facebook and YouTube.

Turkey is a close, strategic NATO ally of the United States. Under Erdoğan, Turkey has also worked to forge a relationship with Apple, announcing plans in 2013 to buy more than $3 billion worth of iPads for use in government and education.

Turkish Apple Store in Zorlu Center. | Source: orbaygumus via Instagram

Apple has two retail stores in the country, including an iconic landmark store at Zorlu Center (above). Apple is reportedly working on a third location to open this year.