European countries will move against FETO: Think-tank

By Hasan Esen

BRUSSELS (AA) - European countries will mobilize against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) for the sake of relations between Turkey and the European Union, ‎predicted the head of a prominent think-tank Wednesday.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, head of the Brussels-based European Neighbourhood Council, cited British Ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore pledging that the U.K. will cooperate with Turkey if it provides evidence of FETO's activities in the U.K.

Vesterbye said Moore's statement is a very positive step because it shows that there will be cooperation with Turkey in the future.

"I think this is a matter of time. European countries will take action considering that this organization [FETO] exists in many countries and capitals, as well as EU-Turkish relations," he said.

Vesterbye said the EU was the first institution to react to the July 15 defeated coup in Turkey but that its subsequent statements included criticisms of Turkey.

"These reactions result from information pollution. The European media had neither the time to properly understand the coup nor the effort for that," he said.

Vesterbye also stressed that the refugee crisis, the fight against terrorism, and defense issues are very important for the EU.

"Thus, it is impossible to see a real rupture in EU-Turkish relations or more criticism than this," he added.

Turkey's government has said the July 15 defeated coup, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his Fetullah Terrorist Organization.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

*Tutku Umac contributed to this story from Ankara.