Germany’s Merkel has “constructive” bilateral meeting with Erdogan

Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan (3rd L) who came to Hangzhou to attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province, Sept. 3, 2016.

He added that he condemns the attempted overthrow. Ankara repeatedly demanded his extradition.

Erdogan said Turkey’s interior and justice ministers would travel to the U.S.to elaborate on their evidence in a bid to strengthen a bid to extradite Gulen.

In this September 24, 2013 file photo, Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Gulen and his followers are accused of masterminding the deadly coup attempt, which killed over 240 people and injured over 2,000, as well as infiltrating state institutions to take control.

The dispute has soured public perceptions of the United States in Turkey and risks undermining a deep security relationship.

In a bid to protect its border, Turkey launched an incursion into northern Syria nearly two weeks ago, and has since cleared Daesh and Kurdish militia fighters from a 90-km (56-mile) stretch of territory. That’s where Islamic State fighters have flooded into Turkey and would-be recruits into Syria.

The US called the attacks on the Kurdish militias “unacceptable” and urged Turkey “to stay focused on the fight against ISIL”. US-backed Syrian Kurds have been the most effective fighting force against IS, but Turkey worries they are seeking a contiguous and autonomous zone along Turkey’s border.

Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group, which the USA and the European Union also list as a terrorist organization.

“Our hope is never to see a belt of terrorism, a corridor of terrorism, emerging around our region”, Erdogan said.

Erdogan stressed that Turkey’s fight against terror organisations such as Daesh in Syria and Iraq as well as the PKK, PYD and YPG – the armed wing of the PKK/PYD terror group – would continue determinedly. “This is not an issue where Turkey should be carrying the burden alone”.