- Title: Cleric should not be bargaining chip in U.S.-Turkey relations - representative
- Date: 16th May 2017
- Summary: SAYLORSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHESTNUT CAMP RETREAT CENTER, WHERE SELF-EXILED TURKISH CLERIC, FETHULLAH GULEN, LIVES SECURITY CAMERA GULEN SPEAKING
- Embargoed: 30th May 2017 21:01
- Keywords: coup FETO Tayyip Erdogan Fethullah Gulen
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C.; NEW YORK, NEW YORK; AND SAYLORSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C.; NEW YORK, NEW YORK; AND SAYLORSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0036H3ANGN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:A representative for a cleric self-exiled from Turkey to the United States said on Tuesday (May 16) he should not be used by Turkey or the United States to bolster relations.
On an official visit to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to press U.S. President Donald Trump for the extradition of the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen who Ankara says was behind a failed military coup last July.
Erdogan blames Gulen supporters for a failed coup attempt last July and has conducted a crackdown on them, drawing criticism from Washington. Gulen has denied involvement in the coup and remains in the United States.
Alliance for Shared Values Executive Director Alp Aslandogan said Gulen was in frail health and should not be extradited back to Turkey.
"He doesn't believe he will get a fair trial in Turkey. Nobody who observes Turkey believes that. He will not get a fair trial - he will only be sent to his death if he is sent back to Turkey," Aslandogan said.
Trump, who took office in January, has sought to reach out to Erdogan, and was criticized by some in the United States for congratulating the Turkish president on his contested win in a referendum on constitutional changes that gave him sweeping new powers.
Erdogan said his visit would "mark a historical turn of tide" and hailed "outstanding relations" between the nations. It was an especially positive tone considering the tensions over Washington's decision to arm the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia that Ankara regards as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Erdogan emphasized that Turkey will not accept Syrian Kurdish fighters in the region while stopping short of directly criticizing a U.S. decision to arm them. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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