But as it is known the extradition of Gulen, who is accused of involvement in the July 15 military coup attempt in Turkey, will not be so relevant for Turkey and the U.S. amid the military operations in Syria.
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“The regime has evidently come to the understanding that a Kurdish [autonomous zone] will form a threat to the regime”, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in an interview this past weekend, referring to the clashes in Hasakah.
For his part, the USA vice-president said that Washington has no interest in protecting anyone harming an ally, but legal standards must be met in the process of Gulen extradition.
Americans understood the feelings of the Turkish people in the wake of the attempted coup, which resulted in at least 240 deaths, Biden said but warned that President Barack Obama did not have the power to extradite anyone.
Responding to repeated claims in some Turkish media outlets following the coup attempt that the US had been complicit, Biden reiterated that Washington “did not have any foreknowledge of the events”.
“This shows the matter is being taken seriously by the USA”, he said.
So far, 81,494 people have been purged from state bodies, 40,029 detained and 20,355 arrested since the coup attempt, Turkish Minute said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Biden is visiting Turkey, in what is the highest-level US trip to the country since a failed coup attempt last month.
He stressed that the US had no prior knowledge of Turkish coup and would never support treasonous behavior. “We once again see the determination of the USA on this issue”, Yildirim added.
He also called on the U.S.to “review” its perspective on the YPG and PYD, which the US does not recognize as a terrorist organization, unlike Turkey.
Turkish officials are blaming Daesh for Saturday’s deadly blast at a wedding ceremony in southeastern province of Gaziantep which left 54 people dead.
Earlier in the day, Turkey launched a military operation dubbed “Euphrates Shield” to clear the Syrian border town of Jarabulus of the Daesh terrorist group, outlawed in many countries, including in Russian Federation. It also coincides with a Turkish military incursion into Syria to clear a border town of the IS group.
Ankara considers the Kurdish YPG in Syria as a hostile force.
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Erdogan says Wednesday’s operation was in response to the “threat posed by terror groups like Daesh and the PYD”, referring to a USA -backed Syrian Kurdish group that has been battling the Islamic State.
