Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

The United States and Turkey are NATO allies, so the U.S. should extradite Gulen, who is directly connected with the attempt of a military coup in the country, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on September 20, the Turkish newspaper Yenisafak reported.

So far the Turkish authorities have sent two requests for extradition of Gulen from the U.S. However, the sides were not able to agree on the issue.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the “parallel state”.

Moreover, supporters of the Gulen movement, who is involved in the military coup attempt, are reported to get into a number of public structures in Turkey.

The Turkish President made a proposal to ban the worldwide activities of the Gulen movement.

The Istanbul court ordered the arrest of Gulen after the July 15 attempt of military coup in Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in turn, said Turkey had sent all the evidence proving the involvement of Gulen to the military coup attempt.

In an interview with CNN International Cavusoglu noted that Previously, a technical delegation consisting of experts of U.S. Department of Justice held meetings with the Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs of Turkey to study the evidence regarding the involvement of Gulen in the failed coup attempt.

He said the failure of the U.S. authorities to comply with the demands of Ankara regarding the extradition of Gulen disappointed Turkey.

"Despite this, the relations between Ankara and Washington are continuing, but Turkey is waiting for Gulen’s extradition," Cavusoglu said.

Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that this issue was discussed during the visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to Turkey on August 24.

The July 15 coup attempt occurred when rogue elements in the Turkish military tried to overthrow the country's democratically elected government.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly plot, which martyred at least 246 people and injured more than 2,000 others, was organized by followers of U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

The General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces has said that 8,651 servicemen of the armed forces participated in the military coup attempt in the country. The rebels used 35 planes, 37 helicopters, 246 tanks and three vessels during the military coup attempt in Turkey.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

Recently he said that the state of emergency may be prolonged due to the fight with Gulen movement.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz