On an official visit to the U.S. capital, Turkey’s justice minister Monday met with his U.S. counterpart and reiterated Ankara's request for the extradition of accused Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) ringleader Fetullah Gulen.
During his 45-minute meeting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Washington, Bekir Bozdag asked Sessions to submit in court the evidence Turkey has handed to U.S. authorities in support of the extradition, and also to place Gulen under provisional arrest, according to Justice Ministry sources.
Turkey holds Gulen and his FETO terrorist group responsible for last July’s attempted coup that martyred 249 and injured some 2,200, and since the days of the Obama administration has complained that the U.S. has not processed his extradition quickly enough.
The ministry sources described Monday’s meeting as having a positive environment ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the U.S. next week.
Erdogan will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 16.
A high-ranking Turkish delegation also met a U.S. delegation Monday headed by Trump’s National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster at the White House where they discussed counter-terrorism and bilateral relations.
The Turkish delegation included Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, intelligence chief Hakan Fidan, and presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish military told Anadolu Agency in a statement.
Developments in Syria and Iraq, counter-terrorism, bilateral relations and other security issues topped the meeting of top Turkish and U.S. officials.