By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey doesn’t want Greece to become a refuge for members of FETO, the terrorist group behind last year’s defeated coup attempt in Turkey, the nation’s foreign minister said Tuesday.
Speaking at joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias, Mevlut Cavusoglu said since last year's defeated coup attempt in Turkey, 995 Turkish citizens have applied for asylum in Greece.
"All of them should be investigated to see how many are members of FETO," the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, Cavusoglu stressed.
Cavusoglu said they believe Greece will not tolerate traitors, despite its courts refusing to extradite eight former soldiers suspected of involvement in the defeated coup attempt.
"We have not lost our hope completely," he said.
Cavusoglu said eight FETO putschists and two other FETO traitors who were involved in an attempt to assassinate Turkey’s president had fled to Greece.
He said they were disappointed by this.
Greek courts rejected the extradition of all eight ex-soldiers who fled Turkey just after the collapse of last July’s coup attempt, which left 250 people martyred and more than 2,100 injured.
They are accused of being involved in the defeated coup, which was masterminded by FETO and the group’s leader, U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen.