Turkey’s Erdogan urges world to act against US-based Gulen

As per the report, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, revealed it during his meeting with Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly session underway in NY.

Biden visited Turkey in August amid tensions between Washington and Ankara regarding the extradition of the US -based Gulen, who is accused of masterminding a bloody failed coup attempt in Turkey in July.

Erdogan, who has sought to purge Turkey’s schools and military of Gulen followers as he solidifies control, told the United Nations that the movement was present in 170 countries, posing a “national security threat” to all of them.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said the Sandarah and Kardish areas, located in Syria’s al-Rai region, were captured as part of Operation Euphrates Shield. “It is evident from our experience that if you do not fight the Gulen network at this stage, it may be too late later”.

Gulen and Erdogan were allies until they had a public falling out in 2013.

Last week, the Turkish ambassador slammed the United Nations for not referring to the PKK as a terror group as recognized by Turkey’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally the USA and the European Union.

In turn, Europe promised three billion euros in aid, visa-free travel to Turks and faster talks on the country’s longstanding goal of joining the European Union.

On August 24, Turkish forces, backed by US-led coalition aircraft, began a military operation dubbed Euphrates Shield to clear the Syrian border town of Jarablus and the surrounding area of Daesh, outlawed in Russian Federation and many other countries.

Promises by the European Union “have been almost forgotten and artificial excuses are raised all the time”, Erdogan said.

The operation aims to create a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria.

Erdogan told Reuters the state of emergency could be extended, if necessary. The analysis considers that the decision for the president is hard, at a time when he is trying to balance Turkey’s territorial and political ambitions with that of the Syrian Kurds, two allies of the United States to combat Islamic insurgency.