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Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke about developments in Syria, the rescue of Manbij, and relations with the US in a press statement today (August 16).
Minister Çavuşoğlu, after his visit with People’s Republican Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu at the CHP headquarters, answered questions from members of the press.
Çavuşoğlu: Obama made a promise about Manbij
The city of Manbij in Syria, under Islamic State (ISIS) control, was taken over by the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (PYD).
When asked about Turkey’s expectations following this development, Çavuşoğlu recalled the statement “to go back to east of the Euphrates” that Obama had made himself to the democratic forces there associated with the Democratic Unity Party (PYD) forces after the operation had ended.
“Now the US has to keep that promise. That’s our expectation. This prolongs our communication on this topic,” Çavuşoğlu said.
“The evidence for extradition is piling up”
He said the process for extraditing Fethullah Gülen from his residency in the US has continued and that the documents and demands for arrest prepared by the Ministry of Justice had been delivered to the US Department of Justice.
“Now our information, documents, and evidence related to the July 15 coup attempt are piling up and we are continuing our political meetings,” he said.
“Kerry will come in Biden’s place”
A delegation from the US Department of State and Justice Department authorities will come to Turkey between August 23-24, Çavuşoğlu recalled, and continued:
“Yesterday it was announced that [US Vice President Joe] Biden will come on August 24. Before that it was announced that [US Secretary of State John] Kerry had wanted to come.”
“Kerry will come in Biden’s place, the Americans decided it this way. Later, once we have prepared the file and go to Washington with the Minister of Justice we will deliver the file and explain to our American counterparts why it is necessary for Gülen to be extradited.”
The war in Syria
Emphasizing that Turkey had defended the inclusion of all ethnic and religious groups in Syria, the need for a secular framework, and Syria’s territorial integrity, Çavuşoğlu recalled that before the shooting down the Russian jet incident Turkey had also come to an agreement with Russia on this issue.
“The most important question is how a political transformation will take place. We stress that the transitional government must also be inclusionary. We say that the Geneva conventions must start again. There are differing thoughts on the topic of whether [Syrian President Dr. Bashar] Assad should stay or go. Principally Turkey thinks that Assad needs to go.”
“We can buy weapons outside of NATO”
Mevlut Çavuşoğlu also spoke about his statement to the German Bild newspaper about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO):
“We are one of NATO’s biggest supporters. But it is clear that regarding the topic of weapons systems buying and selling, cooperation with our other partners is also necessary. Because some NATO partners have rejected sales or information exchange of our air defence systems. Here we make a motion in the framework of international security.”
Separately, Çavuşoğlu also said the European Union needed to introduce visa waivers in the Schengen region for Turkish citizens by October. (AS/KT)
* Photograph: Gökhan Balcı – Ankara / AA
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