Chief advisor of Turkish President Erdogan, White House’s Sullivan discuss Gaza over phone

By Mehmet Tosun

ANKARA (AA) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief advisor Akif Cagatay Kilic and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday discussed Israel's continuing attacks on Gaza in a phone call.

They also discussed Türkiye-US relations, the Russia-Ukraine war and other regional issues, according to information obtained from officials.

Kilic and Sullivan, who also focused on counterterrorism and other items on the bilateral agenda, also discussed cooperation in the fight against regional threats posed by the PKK and ISIS/Daesh terror groups, as well as Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

FETO and its US-based leader Fethullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded in Türkiye.

Gulen has long lived in the US state of Pennsylvania. Since the 2016 coup attempt, Turkish leaders have sought the extradition of Gulen, but US officials have not approved it.

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. the YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul