Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The decision on extradition of Fethullah Gulen can only be made by the U.S. Federal Court.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made the remark on Wednesday during a meeting with Speaker of the Turkish Parliament Ismail Kahramanov, as part of his official visit to Ankara.

Biden said the U.S. understands Turkey's efforts on the issue of extradition of Gulen.

Currently, the U.S. vice president is in the Turkish Parliament, which was bombarded by soldiers attempting to stage a military coup on July 15. He was escorted by İsmail Kahraman as he inspected damaged parts of the parliament building in Ankara.

The highest ranking American official will hold a news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim later today before meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

One of the top topic on the agenda will likely be the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric the Turkish side accuses of planning an attempted military coup on July 15 evening.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender on July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

Turkey’s President said the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people, excluding the coup plotters, and over 2,000 people were wounded. Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

Erdogan has demanded that the U.S. immediately extradite the 75-year-old imam from his home in Pennsylvania to Turkey, by sending two requests to the U.S. for extradition of Fethullah Gulen.

An Istanbul court ordered on August 4 to arrest Fethullah Gulen.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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