Turkey hopes the relations with the United States will normalize soon, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Wednesday, adding that his country will continue using “common sense” in dealing with the situation.
The U.S. Embassy on Sunday stated that "applications from Turkey were halted for an indefinite period." The decision came after the arrest of FETÖ-affiliated U.S. Consulate General employee Metin Topuz.
Hours later, the Turkish Embassy in the U.S. announced that processing non-immigrant visa applications have been suspended in retaliation to the American move.
Addressing Turkey’s counterterrorism efforts, the prime minister noted that control of the land has been ensured in the urban and rural area against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization.
He said that Turkey’s fight against the Daesh terrorist organization continues, and that locals returned to the regions liberated from Daesh with Operation Euphrates Shield.
“As of the beginning of this year, 1,000 Daesh terrorists have been detained. Over 53,000 terror suspects from 146 countries were banned from entering Turkey,” he added.
Yıldırım said that many suspects were detained within the scope of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) operations. The money flow has been dramatically reduced thanks to the operations launched on financial resources of the terrorist organization, the Turkish premier said. “We returned educational institutions held by the terrorist organization to the Turkish people, their real owner. We uncovered secret communication networks of the organization.”
FETÖ terrorists are led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen, who orchestrated Turkey's July 15 coup attempt and is the mastermind behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Since the failed coup, operations have been ongoing in the military, police and judiciary as well as in state institutions across the country to arrest suspects with alleged links to FETÖ.
Additionally, the prime minister said that in the meeting held on Sept. 14-15 in Astana, it was decided to abate the rising tension in Idlib. “Our troops currently are currently on duty in Idlib. The ultimate aim of these efforts is to ensure permanent peace and end the years-long persecution in Syria.”
Yıldırım said the step taken by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) disrupted the territorial integrity of Iraq, poses a danger for the national security of Turkey and threatens regional peace. “Those who link arms with these terrorist organizations should calculate the risk of losing all of Iraq’s gains,” he pointed out.
The KRG held an illegitimate referendum on Sept. 25 despite sharp opposition from most regional and international actors -- including the U.S., Turkey and Iran -- who had warned that the poll would distract from Iraq’s fight against terrorism and further destabilize the already-volatile region.
