“Nothing is the same after July 15,” Yildirim told journalists on Saturday in Istanbul. “America knows this, and we know they know it.” The premier described bilateral relations as “so-so.”
Biden is scheduled to visit NATO ally Turkey on Aug. 24, a diplomatic move that follows Turkish officials’ repeated requests for extradition or deportation of Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. The visit aims to improve ties and also discuss developments in neighboring Syria, Bloomberg quoted Yildrim as saying.
Turkey has jailed more than 20,000 suspects and removed almost 80,000 people from public duty after the coup attempt, Yildirim said on Aug. 17. More than 200 people were killed and thousands were wounded during the revolt, as troops fired on civilian protesters and clashed with police forces in Istanbul and Ankara, the capital. The government declared a three-month state of emergency afterward.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also repeatedly urged the U.S. to send Gulen to Turkey. A day after the coup attempt, he said the U.S. should do “what is necessary” if it’s a true partner.