Turkey hopes for progress with US on Gülen, terrorism
ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency
Turkey - U.S. relations are more important than any individual American president, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on Nov. 12.Kurtulmuş told reporters in Istanbul the election of Donald Trump was a major development for the region and the world.
"This is the American people's choice," he said.
Kurtulmuş said Turkey hoped the partnership with the U.S. in Syria and Iraq would become results-based. He said Ankara wanted to see the U.S. end its backing for outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)-linked forces in Syria and work with its NATO allies in the region.
The minister also said Ankara hoped the extradition process of Fethullah Gülen from the U.S. would accelerate.
Kurtulmuş said these moves would contribute to regional peace and also serve the national interests of the U.S.
Elsewhere on Nov. 12, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ told reporters in the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat he believed Turkey-U.S. ties would improve following Trump’s election.
Bozdağ added that Turkey's expectation of the successful extradition of Gülen had improved.
Ankara accuses Gülen and his followers of organizing Turkey’s deadly coup attempt of July 15, during which parliament was bombed and soldiers attempted to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. More than 240 civilians died during the failed attempt after Erdoğan called on citizens to take to the streets to counter the attempt.
At Washington’s request, Turkey sent evidence to the U.S. which summarized four previously sent files. A U.S. delegation visited Turkey at the end of August and reviewed those documents.
The U.S. then wanted an additional batch of files and evidence from Turkey, which Bozdağ presented to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch during a meeting last month.
