Obama says Turkey coup plotters will be brought to justice
Comment during first meeting between US president and Turkish counterpart since putsch attempt comes as Washington has resisted Turkish demands to extradite cleric Gulen

HANGZHOU, China (AP) — President Barack Obama reassured Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the US will work to ensure those responsible for a failed coup are brought to justice during a meeting Sunday.
Obama sit-down with Erdogan on the sidelines of the G-20 economic summit in Hangzhou, China, was the first meeting between the leaders since the July coup attempt.
“We will make sure that those who carried out these activities are brought to justice,” Obama said.
He added that he condemns the attempted overthrow.
The comment comes as the US has resisted Turkish demands to extradite Fethullah Gulan, a Turkish cleric currently living in Pennsylvania whom Erdogan blames for the coup attempt.
Ankara has demanded the US extradite Gulen to face charges, but Washington has said it needs to see evidence of his involvement, raising tensions between the allies.
Erdogan accuses Gulen of running a “parallel state” in Turkey and has vowed to rid the country of the “virus” of the preacher’s influence.

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, strongly denies any involvement with the bid to overthrow Erdogan.
270 people were killed during the attempted overthrow, and a post-coup purge by Turkey has blacklisted or jailed tens of thousands of public servants and others considered to be linked to Gulen.
The spat over Gulen has soured public perceptions of the United States in Turkey and risks undermining a deep security relationship between the NATO allies.
The US president also said it’s critical to “finish the job” of securing Turkey’s border with Syria. That’s where Islamic State fighters have flooded into Turkey and would-be recruits into Syria.
Turkey recently pushed dozens of tanks into Syria to push IS out of several border towns, but has also used the offensive to battle Kurdish groups in Syria, drawing American ire.
Turkey and the US have been at odds over the role of Kurdish forces in fighting IS in Syria. US-backed Syrian Kurds have been the most effective fighting force against IS, but Turkey worries they are seeking a contiguous and autonomous zone along Turkey’s border.

Erdogan called for the US and Turkey to adopt a common attitude against terrorism.
He said all terrorism is bad and there should be no distinction between “good terrorists” and bad ones.
Turkey considers Syrian Kurdish militants backed by the US to be connected to the PKK, which both Washington and Ankara label a terror group.
Obama added that Turkey must not carry alone the burden of addressing the Syrian refugee crisis.
The Times of Israel Community.