Turkish parliament head urges Kyrgyzstan to act against FETO

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish parliament speaker on Tuesday urged Kyrgyzstan to act against the Fetulah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

Mustafa Sentop made the remarks while meeting Kyrgyzstan's Energy and Industry Minister Doskul Bekmurzaev in the capital Ankara.

"FETO poses a national security risk and threat to every country it operates in. We should fight against this organization together," he said. "Your visit also confirms the will to improve relations between the two countries. I hope it will bring good results and will be beneficial."

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the attempted coup, which killed 251 people, and injured nearly 2,200 others.

Turkey accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Bekmurzaev recalled that Turkey was the first country which recognized the independence of Kyrgyzstan. "History, destiny, language and religion of the two countries are the same," he said.

Turkey and Kyrgyzstan enjoy multidimensional relations in political, economic, military, and cultural spheres on the basis over 200 bilateral agreements and protocols.

The Kyrgyz minister also held a meeting with Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez. In a tweet, Donmez said "we had a productive meeting on the development of our energy cooperation between our countries."