March 30, 2017•Update: April 03, 2017
By Humeyra Atilgan Buyukovali
ISTANBUL
Turkey expects "a more satisfying answer from the U.S." over a phone call made from the American consulate in Istanbul to a top suspect just days after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Thursday.
Kurtulmus, speaking in a live TV interview, said a U.S. embassy statement released on Wednesday was "not satisfying at all".
"As a direct result of close U.S.-Turkish law enforcement cooperation, a call from the U.S. Consulate General Istanbul to a phone belonging to Adil Oksuz on July 21, 2016 did occur," the embassy said.
It added that Turkish police called the consulate on July 21 "to request assistance in preventing Adil Oksuz from fleeing Turkey".
It also said that towards that end, the U.S. then revoked his visa and called him to inform of the cancellation, as required by U.S. law.
"I wonder who else they [the US consulate in Istanbul] called to inform of such a visa cancellation," Kurtulmus asked on Thursday.
Adil Oksuz is regarded as one of the main coup plotters, and is suspected of being a leading member of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
The U.S. statement came after judicial officials at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said earlier on Wednesday that Oksuz, who remains on the run, was contacted at 10.22 a.m. local time (0722GMT) on July 21 by the U.S.-registered number.
Turkish sources have not confirmed that the consulate made the call in order to aid Turkish efforts to find those responsible for the coup attempt, which left 249 people martyred and around 2,200 injured.
Ankara has accused FETO, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, of orchestrating the coup bid through supporters in the military, police and wider state apparatus.
Kurtulmus reiterated the country's extradition requests for Gulen, who has lived in Pennsylvania since 1999.
"They should either extradite him, or take legal action on the matter," Kurtulmus said.
Stating that Gulen "has still an international network", the minister warned that the group could continue its activities. Kurtulmus added that they had intelligence on Gulen's suspect moves to Canada or South Africa.
Goals achieved' in Operation Euphrates Shield
Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in August to eliminate the Daesh presence in northern Syria, came to an end, as announced on Wednesday.
Kurtulmus said all the aims of the operation had been reached.
He said one of the three objectives was to protect the territorial integrity in Syria.
"We prevented a PYD state there," he said, underlining Ankara's long-standing policy of not tolerating any terrorist-backed canton or state in northern Syria.
Kurtulmus also said terror threats on the Turkish border from terrorist organizations were being prevented.
And the third aim of the operation was to ensure the people of the region could safely return home after towns were cleared of terrorists, he added.
"We have achieved all these goals," Kurtulmus said.
