He reiterated that Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed via telephone last Sunday after attempted coup, to arrange a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible.
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The Justice and State Departments are reviewing material Turkey has provided the US about the coup to determine whether it amounts to a formal extradition request.
Turkey has formally requested that the USA extradite Gulen, who is living in Pennsylvania and whom Erdogan blames for an attempted coup a week ago that left more than 200 people dead and led to massive arrests. In a statement on July 21, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he had received repeated assurances from senior Turkish government officials that they would adhere to rule of law and due process when investigating and prosecuting those believed to be responsible for the attempted coup and he asked that they honor them.
The government accuses those loyal to the US-based exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen of being behind the coup. “Because when rumors like that start swirling around, that puts our people at risk on the ground in Turkey and it threatens what is a critical alliance and partnership between the United States and Turkey”.
“Victory belongs to the faithful”, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told hundreds of people outside a mosque in Ankara, the capital.
“Any reports that we had any previous knowledge of a coup attempt, that there was any USA involvement in it, that we were anything other than entirely supportive of Turkish democracy are completely false, unequivocally false”, Obama said during a joint appearance at the White House with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Gulen sought to reassure his followers in a sermon posted on his movement’s main website. The European Union has warned that Turkey will not be able to join the EU if it reinstates the death penalty.
Erdogan has demanded the United States extradite his former ally turned arch-enemy Gulen, the leader of the Hizmet (Service) movement, which runs a global network of schools as well as businesses, media outlets and cultural centres.
The Turkish government imposed a state of emergency on Thursday (21 July).
Diplomats and most citizens who don’t work for the government are not affected by the travel restriction.
Authorities imposed a state of emergency on Thursday, strengthening powers to round up suspects behind the failed putsch and suspending the European Convention on Human Rights.
Erdogan has said the new powers granted by the state of emergency will counter threats to Turkish democracy, though critics are urging restraint because they fear the measures will violate basic freedoms.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said several people detained in the wake of the coup had been shown on camera and appeared to have been mistreated.
“If you want to draw out the Gulen extradition issue it can take years but if you are decisive it can be completed in a short period”, he said in remarks carried by Reuters.
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Erdogan has declared July 15 a national holiday to commemorate the people killed by the forces that staged the coup attempt.
