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US could extradite Gülen quickly, claims Turkish minister

July 23, 2016 at 11:57 am

Turkey’s foreign minister has said that the US could extradite the alleged mastermind of the failed coup attempt, Fethullah Gülen, “very quickly,” Quds Press reported on Friday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu made his comments to TRT, the official Turkish TV channel. “If you want to draw out the Gülen extradition issue it can take years,” he explained, “but if you are decisive it can be completed in a short period.”

He added that the US had proposed to form a committee to examine Gülen’s case, reiterating that his country is ready to take part in this. He pointed out that the US prevents Gülen from travelling to a third country.

“Our demand is clear,” said Cavusoglu. “If there is comprehensive anti-terror cooperation, there must be tangible outcomes for this cooperation.”

Meanwhile, the foreign minister called on Athens to extradite the soldiers who fled to Greece in the wake of the failed coup attempt. They are, he insisted, “traitors” who do not have the right to claim asylum. He urged the Greek authorities to cooperate with Turkey and “send these traitors back to Turkey.”