Erdogan Delivers Ultimatum: Washington Has to Choose Between Gulen and Turkey


Date posted: August 11, 2016

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the United States must make a choice between Ankara and a movement led by US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

On Wednesday,  Ilnur Cevik, chief adviser to the president, told Sputnik that Ankara has no intention of ever closing the Incirlik airbase, from which US planes fly anti-Daesh missions, and will continue to cooperate with the United States.

“Sooner or later the US will make a choice. Either Turkey or FETO,” Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara on Wednesday, as quoted by the state-run Anadolu Agency. “Either the coup-plotting terrorist FETO or the democratic country Turkey. It has to make this choice.”

The president added that he sees no difference between the Daesh jihadist group, banned in Russia and some other countries, and FETO, designated as a terrorist group in Turkey.

Ankara has accused Gulen and his followers of playing a key role in the July 15 attempted coup, which claimed lives of over 240 people.

Turkey has repeatedly asked the United States to extradite Gulen. The cleric, who has been living in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied the allegations that he orchestrated the coup attempt.

Related Video:

Fethullah Gulen denies coup involvement….

 

Source: Sputnik , August 11, 2016


Related News

Whistleblower says gov’t preparing to close down Gülen-inspired schools

A government whistleblower has claimed the government is preparing to shut down schools believed to be close to the Gülen movement, a faith-based grassroots social initiative inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, in Turkey on the pretext that the schools are not being properly administered.

Detained woman, newborn baby transferred to prison 1,291 km away from home

Detained in the southern province of Isparta, Turkey, as part of a post-coup investigation, a woman, identified with initials Ö.A., has been transferred to a prison 1,291 kilometers away from home. Her 6-mont-old baby reportedly accompanied her under detention as her husband was already in jail as part of an investigation in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.

‘Pool media’ court case against Zaman daily tossed out

An İstanbul court tossed out a court case filed against the Zaman daily by the Turkuvaz Media Group involving a Zaman news article detailing pro-government businessman pooling funds together to purchase Turkuvaz late last week.

My husband is being tortured and I am worried about his life

My husband was in an exhausted state when he got into the room. There were punch marks on his face. He was suffering psychologically; he begged not to go back down to the detention room. He was saying “If you wish to give me 50 years in prison, do so, but do not take me down there”.

Turkish American ‘balance alignment’

Ali H. Aslan, Washington D.C. If, when I began working in Washington 16 years ago, someone had come up to me and said, “The day will come when nearly 50 senators and representatives from the US Congress will participate in a Turkish gathering,” I would have said he was dreaming. And if someone had also […]

President Gul says debates over prep schools should not lead to ‘resentment’

Turkish President Abdullah Gül has said ongoing debates over a recent controversy over the government’s move to shut down prep schools should not lead to “resentment.” The government’s plan to ban private tutoring institutions that train students for high school and university entrance exams has divided society and led to fear among some segments of the public that socioeconomic differences may further affect students’ academic achievement after the closure.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Understanding shifts in Islamic interpretation in Turkey through Gulen-inspired Yamanlar High School

Erdoğan’s Fight against the Gülen Movement & The Demise of Turkish State Rationality

TUSKON’s Turkish-Filipino Initiatives to Open New Trade Doors

President of Zambia Mr. Rupiah Banda thanks Turkish investors in education

Part of Turkish media say have been shut out by government

GYV rejects claims that Hizmet movement dominates Turkey’s judiciary

Said-i Nursi: An Ottoman Scholar in Turkish Republic

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News