A senior United States official said today Turkey has submitted four extradition requests for Gulen but offered no evidence tying him to last month’s failed coup.
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The extradition of Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of organizing the July 15 military coup attempt in Turkey, will be the main topic of discussions during the meetings.
US State Department’s Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said Turkey’s request to extradite Fethullah Gulen is not related to the coup attempt.
Biden’s primary objective in Ankara is to convince the Turkish people that the US remains committed to the alliance and fully condemns the coup attempt, said the official, who briefed reporters Wednesday. “It’s totally understandable why the people of Turkey are angry”.
Before the July 15 coup, Turkey had already submitted 84 dossiers on Gulen and his movement to US authorities, and has since sent another four since the coup, Yildirim said.
He described the coup attempt, which involved military strikes on the Turkish parliament building, as an attack against the heart of democracy, adding that the U.S. is impressed by the popular resistance shown to the coup perpetrators.
“Our legal experts are working right now with their Turkish counterparts on the production of and the evaluation of material and evidence that needs to be supplied to an American court to meet the requirements under our law in the extradition treaty to extradite Gulen”. “But there should be no doubt that we will continue to work closely with the Turkish government as this process unfolds”. Ankara is anxious the YPG’s advance emboldens Kurdish insurgents in its mainly Kurdish southeast.
Adding to USA worries, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim recently appeared warm to the possibility of Syrian President Bashar Assad maintaining a role in a transitional government. The U.S. has not been given evidence on Gulen. “But as the vice president would say, all of that is malarkey”, the USA official said. “As of now, the Turkish authorities have not come forward with a formal extradition request for Gulen based on the coup itself”.
Turkey has been shaken this year by a string of attacks from Islamic State jihadists and Kurdish militants, as well as the botched 15 July coup.
After meeting with Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman on Wednesday, Biden toured the sections of parliament damaged during the coup attempt.
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Biden is the first senior United States official to visit Turkey after the failed coup.
