Apart from the conversation Tuesday, Turkey provided the US government with documents that were being reviewed to determine whether it amounted to a formal extradition request for Gulen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania.
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He said Mrs May “commended the bravery” of the Turkish people, adding: “The Prime Minister underlined our support for Turkey’s government and democratic institutions, stressing there was no place for the military in politics”.
Turkey says Fethullah Gulen, a USA -based Muslim cleric, was behind the coup and has demanded his extradition.
Turkey’s President has refused to rule out the death penalty for the thousands of people arrested following a violent failed military coup Friday.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced the request Tuesday in Parliament and on Twitter referred to Gulen as a “terrorist leader”.
The army, judiciary, security and civil service have all been targeted following Friday’s coup attempt, with 6000 military personnel arrested, more than two dozen generals awaiting trial, 9000 police officers sacked and nearly 3000 judges suspended.
“I condemn and reject in the strongest terms the attempted coup”, Gulen said in an interview Monday with USA TODAY and several other reporters.
Fethullah Gulen is believed by Ankara to be the mastermind behind the recent military coup attempt.
However Erdogan still faces obstacles, notably to implementing his dream of a fully-fledged presidential system in Turkey and keeping military support to fight Kurdish rebels.
Tuesday’s firings come on top of roughly 9,000 people who have been detained by the government, including security personnel, judges, prosecutors, religious figures and others.
Under the U.S. -Turkey extradition agreement, Washington can only extradite a person if he or she has committed an “extraditable act”.
More than two dozen generals, including former air force chief Gen Akin Ozturk, have been remanded in custody pending the setting of trial dates.
The U.S. Air Force has used the air base in Incirlik to launch air strikes against Islamic State.
Erdogan said he was with his wife, son-in-law and grandchildren on vacation in Marmaris in southwest Turkey when the attempted putsch occurred.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, he said refused to rule out the death penalty for thousands of people arrested in the political upheaval, despite warnings that reintroducing capital punishment could dash Turkey’s chances of joining the European Union.
One of the versions says that the military coup in Turkey was plotted by the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
On Tuesday, Turkey’s Justice Ministry sent the U.S. a dossier amid the calls to hand Gulen over to Turkish authorities.
“July 15 has shown the power of tanks were defeated by the power of people”.
The Turkish premier called on the United States to “give up protecting that traitor” during a speech to his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Faruk Logoglu, a former Turkish ambassador to the USA and lawmaker for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said that the coup “will reinforce Erdogan’s powers and allow him to limit the freedoms that remain”.
“We would be against any regulation that would use the military as a tool of pressure upon society”, Kilicdaroglu said.
“We need unity … and brotherhood now”, he said.
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While he may not be concerned about his own fate, the opposition leader said he was very anxious about worsening relations between the United States and Turkey in the wake of the weekend’s upheaval.
