When U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visits Turkey Wednesday, he will be the most senior Western leader to visit that country since the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15.
Many Turks say they are angry about what they see as a lack of solidarity from the West. Meanwhile, many in the West are concerned that Ankara has fired or suspended nearly 80,000 government employees and soldiers since the failed coup.
Turkey has faced a series of horrific terrorist attacks like the one on August 20, that targeted a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep. The attack occurred in the wake of a coup attempt that included the first-ever bombing of its parliament.
“First and foremost the vice president's message will be to indicate our continued, ongoing strong support for our allies in Turkey. That’s a country that obviously is going through a lot," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest as he outlined Vice President Joe Biden’s mission.
Some analysts say most people in Turkey think the U.S. and the European Union have been too critical of Anakara’s response to the traumatic coup.
“In the Turkish public’s mind there is a puzzlement, why is it – and further to your initial question, why is it that it has taken such a long time for a very long-standing ally of Turkey to express solidarity and to manifest that solidarity with a visit to Turkey, and that also applies to the EU," noted Kemal Kirisci an analyst at the Brookings Institution.
Turkish President Erdogan accuses the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen of planning the coup and is demanding that Washington turn him over right away.
"We say to America: aren't we strategic partners? Don't we have extradition treaties? If that's the case, when you ask for terrorists (to be extradited) we didn't ask for documents," Erdogan said in a speech.
At his Pennsylvania compound, Gulen told VOA he was not involved in the coup, and he condemned the violence.
“It would be unprecedented and appalling if the United States took a frail, almost octogenarian, plopped him on a plane to go back into that kind of setting with the hideous things that are being said about him by the entire Turkish government," Gulen's lawyer, Reid Weingarten said.
Biden is likely to repeat in Ankara what Press Secretary Earnest explained Monday.
“There is a treaty, an extradition treaty that's been on the books between the United States and Turkey for more than 30 years," he noted.
Earnest said some U.S. Justice Department officials will travel to Turkey this week to review some of the evidence they have collected. He said the U.S. will make the decision based on evidence and the rules of the treaty.
[voanews.com]
23/8/16
-
Related:
Many Turks say they are angry about what they see as a lack of solidarity from the West. Meanwhile, many in the West are concerned that Ankara has fired or suspended nearly 80,000 government employees and soldiers since the failed coup.
Turkey has faced a series of horrific terrorist attacks like the one on August 20, that targeted a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep. The attack occurred in the wake of a coup attempt that included the first-ever bombing of its parliament.
“First and foremost the vice president's message will be to indicate our continued, ongoing strong support for our allies in Turkey. That’s a country that obviously is going through a lot," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest as he outlined Vice President Joe Biden’s mission.
Some analysts say most people in Turkey think the U.S. and the European Union have been too critical of Anakara’s response to the traumatic coup.
“In the Turkish public’s mind there is a puzzlement, why is it – and further to your initial question, why is it that it has taken such a long time for a very long-standing ally of Turkey to express solidarity and to manifest that solidarity with a visit to Turkey, and that also applies to the EU," noted Kemal Kirisci an analyst at the Brookings Institution.
Turkish President Erdogan accuses the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen of planning the coup and is demanding that Washington turn him over right away.
"We say to America: aren't we strategic partners? Don't we have extradition treaties? If that's the case, when you ask for terrorists (to be extradited) we didn't ask for documents," Erdogan said in a speech.
At his Pennsylvania compound, Gulen told VOA he was not involved in the coup, and he condemned the violence.
“It would be unprecedented and appalling if the United States took a frail, almost octogenarian, plopped him on a plane to go back into that kind of setting with the hideous things that are being said about him by the entire Turkish government," Gulen's lawyer, Reid Weingarten said.
Biden is likely to repeat in Ankara what Press Secretary Earnest explained Monday.
“There is a treaty, an extradition treaty that's been on the books between the United States and Turkey for more than 30 years," he noted.
Earnest said some U.S. Justice Department officials will travel to Turkey this week to review some of the evidence they have collected. He said the U.S. will make the decision based on evidence and the rules of the treaty.
[voanews.com]
23/8/16
-
Related:
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
No comments:
Post a Comment
Only News