The two men also discussed Turkey’s request that Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen be extradited from the U.S.to face charges that he was linked to the coup attempt.
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ANKARA-Turkish leaders and top generals convened an extraordinary security meeting Wednesday, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to push through new security measures in the wake of the weekend’s failed coup.
In the days since the coup failed, Turkey has intensified a sweeping crackdown on the media, the military, the courts and the education system following an attempted coup, targeting tens of thousands of teachers and other state employees believed to have links with Gulen for dismissal. Responding to the attempt on Saturday, Erdogan said it was “a gift from God” since it will give the government “a reason to cleanse our army”.
“Had I stayed 10, 15 additional minutes, I would have been killed or I would have been taken”, he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman denounced “revolting scenes of caprice and revenge against soldiers on the street”.
Turkey on Tuesday sent an official request to USA government for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, who was accused by Ankara of plotting a failed military coup.
“With respect to Mr. Gulen, we have consistently said to our friends in Turkey and allies in Turkey that we need evidence”, Kerry told reporters at the State Department.
Mr. Ozturk has denied the allegation, saying he neither planned nor directed the coup, according to Anadolu.
National education officials announced this week that the board had ordered the resignation of 1,577 deans representing every university in Turkey.
In Brussels on Monday, Kerry said he supported bringing perpetrators of the attempted coup in Turkey to justice, but warned the government against going “too far” while restoring order in the country.
The Turkish government under Erdogan has now arrested, fired or suspended a total of more than 50,000 people in its post-coup d’etat attempt crackdown.
It says authorities have blocked access to more than 20 news websites, cancelled press cards for 34 journalists, and issued an arrest warrant for one journalist for her coverage of the coup.
F-16 jets pounded targets belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in Iraq’s Hakurk region, the Anadolu agency reported.
The violence surrounding the Friday night coup attempt claimed the lives of 208 government supporters and 24 coup plotters, according to the government.
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Mr Erdogan told CNN in his first media interview since the coup bid that he would approve any decision by Parliament to reintroduce capital punishment.
