US to consider Gulen's extradition upon Turkey's demand

The US has declared Washington’s willingness to consider extraditing Turkish opposition figure Fethullah Gulen if demanded by Turkey, noting that no such request has been made.

The development came as Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan insisted in a televised address on Saturday evening that Washington should turn Gulen over to Ankara, saying Turkey had never turned back any extradition request for “terrorists’’ by the US and pointing to his nation’s cooperation with the United States “in fighting terrorism,” AP reported.

"I say if we are strategic partners then you should bring about our request," he said as quoted in the report.

Secretary of State John Kerry stated, however, that Ankara would have to prove any wrongdoing by the US-based and former Erdogan ally, Gulen, who left Turkey back in 1999.

"We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr. Gulen," Kerry said in a press briefing during a visit to Luxembourg. "And obviously we would invite the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny. And the United States will accept that and look at it and make judgments about it appropriately."

While Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has blamed Gulen’s supporters for the failed coup, the opposition figure has rejected any involvement in the event.

Gulen has harshly condemned the attempted coup by military officers leading to a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left dozens of people and security forces dead.

Erdogan's government, however, is blaming the religious figure, who lives in the US state of Pennsylvania and promotes a philosophy that reportedly blends a mystical form of Islam with strong advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue.

US President Barack Obama urged all sides in Turkey, a major NATO ally, to back what he referred to as the democratically elected government in Ankara.

Following a meeting with his national security advisers, Obama further called on rival Turkish parties to show restraint and avoid violence or bloodshed.

Speaking from Istanbul, President Erdogan called on his US counterpart to arrest Gulen or deport him to Turkey to face charges related to the coup.

Erdogan added that if the Washington and Ankara are truly strategic allies, then the American president will help him with regard to the exiled opposition figure.

He then claimed that the attempted coup was perpetrated by a minority within the army, but not the military in general.

The Turkish president has long accused his ex-ally Gulen of making efforts to overthrow his administration. Washington, meanwhile, has never found any evidence previously submitted by Ankara particularly compelling.

In a statement, however, Gulen insisted that he condemned, "in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey."

"Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force," he added. "I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly."

Reiterating his fierce denial of any role, Gulen further stated, "As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations."

Gulen reportedly maintains significant support among some members of the Turkish military and mid-level bureaucrats. His movement, called Hizmet, includes think tanks, schools and various media enterprises.

The attempted coup in Turkey has so far left 161 people killed and 1,440 wounded in the overnight violence, according to the Turkish premier, who added that 2,839 plotters have also been detained.

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