Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday that the United States should "not harbor a terrorist" like Fetullah Gülen and that his activities should be banned around the world.
Gülen, who has been running an illegal Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and orchestrated a failed coup attempt in July, has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999.
Following the deadly coup attempt that martyred more than 240 and injured over 2200 people, Turkey demanded his extradition so that he could be brought to justice.
Ankara had sent four dossier of documents over his terrorist group and its link to the attempted coup. A U.S. delegation had also visited Ankara last month to discuss his extradition with legal and technical details.
Erdoğan said Washington had "no excuse" for keeping Gülen, who has built up a network of terrorists over decades inside the armed forces and civil service to take over Turkey.
"If the U.S. is our strategic ally and our NATO partner... then they should not let a terrorist like Gülen run his organization," Erdoğan said, in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
Turkish President said an initial three-month state of emergency, declared in the wake of the coup, could be extended if necessary.
"It can be extended for three months or one month or even more ... Gülen's people have infiltrated everywhere ... We will continue to identify and arrest the plotters ... Extending the state of emergency will help this process," he added.
On the coup night, putchists had responded with a wave of wanton violence against civilians by rolling over pro-democracy protesters with tanks, opening fire against civilians with both rifles and tanks, and using helicopters and fighter jets to bomb the parliament, government buildings, presidency and even civilians.
A group of pro-FETÖ coupists raided a hotel in Marmaris where President Erdoğan and his family members had been on vacation.
Putchists, who were detained in the wake of the coup attempt, said their main target was to kill Erdoğan and take over the power by overthrowing the democratically-elected government of Turkey.
Authorities have closed private schools, businesses, and some media outlets for their links with the FETÖ terror group and assisting their illegal activities.
Nearly 3,000 soldiers were sacked or suspended for their involvement in the coup attempt. Many civil servants and police officers have also been suspended or fired after investigators found them guilty over the coup bid.
Turkey has accused the EU of double standards in criticizing the crackdown while showing hesitation in condemning the coup that killed about 240 people.
Erdoğan said the EU had failed to meet its obligations despite Turkey's decades-long efforts to join the trading bloc.
"Turkey has kept its promises regarding the EU membership process; it is a two-way street and the EU should fulfill its promises ... We have not concluded this process ... We want the EU to be honest about this process," he said.
Turkey's ties with the United States also are strained over Washington's support for the YPG/PKK terrorist group in Syria.
Turkey said that the U.S. should stand against all terrorist organizations with the same stance. “There should be no differences between terrorists and there is no good or bad among them; a terrorist is a terrorist,” Erdoğan had said earlier urging the U.S. to stop supporting the YPG terror group in northern Syria.
YPG is the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has been conducting a decades-long insurgency in the southeastern part of Turkey.
PKK, a listed terror group to the U.S., EU and Turkey, has killed more than 40,000 people so far.
"Daesh and YPG ... are the main source of threat," he said.
Turkey launched its first major military operation into Syria in early September, saying it was aimed at driving out Daesh from its border.
The Euphrates Shield operation initially targeted Daesh militias, but most of the focus since has been on checking the advance of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.
"We have been patient... We have not deployed all of our troops to Syria ... with the moderate opposition, Jarabulus was freed," he said, adding that Turkey supported plans to drive Daesh out of its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.
"But Turkey will not act unilaterally to liberate Raqqa. We will get involved in actions taken by the (U.S.-led) coalition forces," he said.
Erdoğan said no lasting peace could be achieved in Syria without removal of President Bashar al-Assad from power. Turkey is one of the main partners of the U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition in Syria, and hosts around 3 million Syrian refugees.
"The future of Syria should be determined by its own people ... Why is this killer (Assad) being backed by some states?" Erdoğan said.
"Assad cannot be part of any transitional period ... The world should find a solution that does not involve Assad ... Syria's territorial integrity should be respected by other countries."
Assad is supported by Russia, Iran and Arab Shi'ite militias, while Sunni rebels seeking to unseat him are backed by Turkey and Gulf Arab states.
