President Barack Obama rejected on Friday suggestions the U.S. was behind a failed coup in Turkey, voicing strong support for the government in Ankara and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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He also said that Turkey’s request for the extradition of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Erdogan for the deadly unrest, would be handled in accordance with USA law and that “evidence” against Gulen would be taken seriously.
President Barack Obama says the United States had no knowledge or involvement in the failed coup attempt in Turkey.
Erdogan, an Islamist, has led Turkey as prime minister or president since 2003.
Turkey entered into a 90-day state of emergency on Thursday, which Erdogan has said is necessary to restore order after the coup, which left 260 dead.
Germany earlier called on Turkey to respect the rule of law after Ankara imposed a state of emergency following the failed coup.
Gulen has strongly denied any knowledge of the attempted military coup.
“I am requesting my heroic nation, which thwarted the armed coup attempt with its foresight and courage, to continue the democracy watch on the streets until our country gets out of this hard situation for good”, he said late Thursday. “It appears that Erdogan will use the failed coup of 2016 for much the same aims, with much the same result”, Eissenstat wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
Ankara has said it will formally request Gulen’s extradition from the United States, but has not yet done so.
The two North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries are allies in the fight against the Islamic State group; American military jets have been flying missions against extremists in Iraq and Syria out of the Turkish air base at Incirlik.
Obama, who spoke with Erdogan by phone this week, said he told the Turkish leader he would have to go through the legal process. The commander of the Turkish side of the base was arrested as part of the following crackdown.
The U.S. Defense Department said Friday that Turkey had restored electrical power to the base after it was cut following the failed coup. It is used by USA -led coalition jets fighting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
The three-month state of emergency will see Erdogan preside the council of ministers and allows government to rule by decree, pass bills that have the force of law unless they are overturned by parliament, where the majority of MPs belong to the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP).
Mexico is the United States’ third largest trading partner, with a daily trade exchange of Dollars 1.5 billion, he said.
The Turkish government has already imposed a crackdown that has included mass arrests, mass firings and closing hundreds of schools allegedly linked to Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.
In a joint statement, foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and European Union enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn criticised as “unacceptable” the sacking or suspension of tens of thousands of people in the education system, judiciary and the media, adding that they were monitoring the state of emergency “with concern”.
He has said the state of emergency will counter threats to Turkish democracy, though critics are urging restraint because they fear the measure would violate basic freedoms.
The U.S. president also expressed the hope that as the dust settles in Turkey, there is not an over-reaction that would curtail civil liberties or weaken the ability of legitimate opposition.
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In an interview with Reuters news agency following last Friday’s coup attempt, Erdogan said there is “no obstacle in terms of prolonging it”.
