The United States, and the rest of the West to a degree, had fallen out, first, with Russian Federation, over its seizure of the Crimea and its dispatch of forces to the eastern Ukraine, leading to economic and financial sanctions against it.
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Last month, Gen. Joe Votel, the top officer at the Special Operations Command, said at a public forum that he was anxious about “longer-term” impacts from the failed coup on counterterrorism operations and the U.S relationship with the Turkish military.
Ankara is already pressing Washington to extradite USA -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it accuses of orchestrating the coup. “NATO counts on the continued contributions of Turkey and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation”, she said.
The president’s remarks came as he addressed a mass crowd in front of the Presidential Palace in the capital – one location attacked on the night of the coup attempt.
The daily gatherings, which have attracted hundreds of thousands wishing to show their opposition to the foiled July 15 coup, culminated Sunday in a rally in Istanbul that 5 million people are thought to have attended, according to local officials. Gulen has denied any involvement.
“Democracy watch can not be only kept in certain hours, in certain places”, he added.
“Turkey takes full part in the alliance’s consensus-based decisions as we confront the biggest security challenges in a generation”, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation spokesperson Oana Lungescu said Wednesday in a statement.
During that rally, he said he would sign a reintroduction of the death penalty into law if it was approved by parliament.
Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish government through the infiltration of the state institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the “parallel state”.
Around 60,000 people have been detained, arrested and suspended for their roles in the failed coup on July 15, with images emerging of prisoners being beaten.
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Erdogan said it is a “patriotic duty to expose” Gulen supporters even if they are family or friends.
