Wednesday, August 10, 2016

US Warns Turkey to Back Off Threats Over Coup; Erdogan Angry US Won't Hand Over Cleric Gulen

Since a failed military coup last month, U.S. relations with Turkey have been worsening, with the Erdogan government harshly criticizing the Obama Administration at every chance -- accusing the U.S. of not being supportive enough and at times accusing the U.S. of being secretly behind the coup -- the Antiwar website reports today (August 10, 2016).

The State Department has warned the Turkish government to back off the various threats and accusations against the U.S. surrounding the coup, saying the U.S. finds Turkey's "inflammatory rhetoric" a serious problem.

Turkish officials don't appear to be keen on backing away from the allegations, with Turkey's Justice Ministry issuing a statement warning the U.S. is risking bilateral relations by not handing over exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen.

The U.S. is unwilling to extradite Gulen outside of the traditional extradition avenue, and Turkish officials have acted baffled at this, insisting that their status as a U.S. ally means the White House ought to take their word for it (Gulen masterminding the coup) and hand over Gulen, and whoever else they want.

No comments:

Post a Comment