Biden, who met with Turkish officials in Ankara on Wednesday, said the USA extradition process would take time as he reaffirmed Washington’s cooperation in the case of US -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
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Speaking during a visit to Ankara, Biden’s comments came hours after President Tayyip Erdogan said Washington had “no excuse” for keeping hold of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in US exile since 1999.
The first is the Turkish request for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, who is widely believed to be the hand behind the failed coup attempt.
Erdogan said over the weekend that what he considered US vacillations over extraditing Gulen were “overshadowing our strategic partnership”.
In addition, seven academics at the Yüzüncü Yıl University in the eastern province of Van were suspended Tuesday for links to the Gulen movement, the report said.
He also warned that President Barack Obama wouldn’t intervene in the extradition process.
Turkey might have a lot more than artillery barrages in store for America’s allies in Syria.
“Let me say it for one last time: The American people stand with you”.
Biden said he had addressed the issues in his meetings with Turkish leaders Wednesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of White House rules, said Biden would address the conspiracy theories when he meets with Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country.
Biden agreed, saying, “We have made it absolutely clear.that they [pro-Kurdish forces] must go back across the river”. “Remember the confusion after 9/11?”
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) meets with Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan at Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul November 22, 2014.
Maintaining strong relations with Turkey is particularly important as the USA and coalition countries battle ISIS. U.S. forces have relied on Incirlik for launching air strikes and conducting surveillance and reconnaissance missions against the terror group. It’s become the biggest irritant between the two strategic partners just as they struggle to reconcile their approaches to fighting the Islamic State group across Turkey’s border in Syria.
He last visited Turkey in January and is the only U.S. official to have built a closer personal relationship with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Turkish Speaker of Parliament Ismail Kahraman gave Biden the tour, surveying damage to the building’s exterior that, at parts, included the very foundation.
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“Can you imagine us being happy with another military state (in Turkey)?”
