Turkey says the United States must stop stalling on the extradition of Gülenist Terror Group's (FETÖ) U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen, who is behind an attempted coup two years ago and a long-running campaign of infiltration into state institutions.
In a working group meeting on July 13, Washington and Ankara recently discussed not only the return of Gülen, who lives in a self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, but also U.S. citizens arrested in Turkey, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said Thursday.
"We have stressed ... that America should no longer stall us, particularly on the issue of FETÖ," Aksoy told reporters.
Among the U.S. citizens being held in Turkey is Christian pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested in 2016 in the aftermath of the failed coup and is accused of ties FETÖ and PKK terrorist groups.
A Turkish court ruled Wednesday that Brunson would remain in prison on charges of terrorism and espionage. U.S. President Donald Trump called his continued detention a "total disgrace," and said the pastor "has been held hostage far too long," in comments posted in Twitter.
The U.S. trial of former Halkbank Deputy CEO Mehmet Hakan Atilla, judicial cooperation between the two countries and imprisoned U.S. citizens in Turkey were also discussed during the recent working group meeting, Aksoy said.
Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met recently on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels, when Aksoy said the issue of Gülen was raised.
The state of emergency in Turkey, imposed after the coup attempt that that killed 251 people and left more than 2,000 injured, ended early Thursday.
