US Vice President Joe Biden told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday that only a federal court could extradite Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric Turkey blames for orchestrating last month’s failed coup.
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He said it would be an impeachable offense for US President Barack Obama to order the extradition of a foreign national. “You have to hand him over”.
But he said only the courts not the USA government could decide on Turkey’s extradition demand for the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Turkish and American justice officials met on Tuesday to discuss Turkey’s demands for the extradition of a US -based cleric accused of masterminding last month’s failed coup attempt.
“We will abide by our system”.
Speaking at a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday, Biden says Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates River”.
Erdogan, however, firmly called for Gulen’s extradition, claiming that the cleric manages a terrorist organization from Pennsylvania.
Biden, who is visiting Turkey, said he felt “guilty” for not coming sooner after the coup attempt and expressed USA “continuing, unwavering support” for Turkey.
Also, if the Syrian Kurdish forces are distracted in clashes with the Turks and have to shift resources toward front lines with Turkey or with Turkish-backed opposition groups, that “buys (IS) some breathing space”, Kozak said.
BIDEN: We have no, no, no, no interest whatsoever in protecting anyone who has done harm to an ally.
Some in Washington privately doubt Gulen’s involvement and have been critical of the heavy-handed Turkish government response to the coup attempt.
Turkey’s incursion Wednesday to capture the town of Jarablus was a dramatic escalation of Turkey’s role in Syria’s war and adds yet another powerhouse force on the ground in an already complicated conflict.
Yet Turkey remains a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally and provides a vital bulwark against the civil war in neighboring Syria, causing many in Washington to put a lid on concerns about Erdogan’s creeping autocracy. Official and unofficial reactions from the USA, especially those from the media, to the failed coup attempt are much to blame for the rise of anti-American sentiment in Turkey. The Turkish president said earlier that the Ankara government would continue to provide U.S. officials with documents to demand Gulen’s extradition.
“If the extradition process of this terrorist leader could accelerate, if our cooperation on this matter continues like this, the Turkish people will quickly recover from their sadness and disappointment”, the premier said.
During Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Ankara this week, the disagreement played out in unusually sharp and open fashion.
According to this agreement, which does not cover political convictions, Turkey has now made an official request for the extradition of Gulen and has forwarded evidence to this effect.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. “The United States had no knowledge beforehand of what was to befall you on July 15”. “We’ve seen that borne out each time we stand together to face down threats to our shared security and common values”.
A senior USA administration official previewing Biden’s visit said the Turks have submitted four separate extradition requests for Gulen but that none were related to his direct involvement in the coup.
Erdogan has demanded that Washington hand over Gulen, who has denied any involvement in the coup, but USA authorities have said Turkey must first provide evidence of his wrongdoing.
Biden is the first senior USA official to visit Turkey after the failed coup in which at least 240 people were killed during efforts to resist the putsch.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that the executive branch of government, that includes the president, can not make those types of decisions unilaterally. The effort has raised significant human rights concerns.
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Biden is due to meet Erdogan later on Wednesday. He said a team of lawyers dispatched from Washington to review the case “is clear sign from your side that you’re taking this seriously and attaching great importance to it”. Let’s give this some time.
