Turkish foreign minister, US top diplomat discuss ties

By Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over the phone on Sunday, according to diplomatic sources.

The conversation came just two days after a Friday phone call in which the two top diplomats discussed bilateral ties and cooperation on counter-terrorism, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

About Friday’s call, Cavusoglu told a local TV station that he and Tillerson discussed Turkey’s request for the extradition of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) head Fetullah Gulen and the weapons the U.S. provided to the PKK/PYD terrorist organization.

The Turkish government considers the PKK/PYD as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, a designated terrorist organization by Turkey and the U.S., while the U.S. sees it as a separate group and “reliable ally” in its fight against Daesh in Syria.

For more than 30 years, the PKK has waged a terror campaign against Turkey leading to the deaths of more than 40,000 people -- security forces and civilians alike -- including more than 1,200 since July 2015 alone.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

The sources also said that Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will visit the U.S. this week, on Nov. 7-11, to hold various talks.