Turkish PM congratulates Trump on his election victory

By Ilkay Guder

ANKARA (AA) - Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Wednesday morning congratulated Donald Trump on his winning the U.S. presidency.

At a ceremony marking the opening of the school year at the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy in the capital Ankara, Yildirim said: "We congratulate Mr. Trump and wish him success".

He added, "I make a clarion call for the new president to extradite Fetullah Gulen, who lives in U.S. territory, as soon as possible."

Gulen is the leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), blamed for the July 15 coup plot in Turkey as well as being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Gulen currently lives in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, and Ankara has called on U.S. authorities to extradite him as soon as possible, and arrest him until his extradition has been processed.

The July 15 defeated coup left 246 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

- Erdogan wishes 'successful future' to United States

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also touched upon the U.S. presidential election that resulted with Trump's victory, during a speech in Istanbul.

"American people have made their choice and a new term begins in the United States with that choice," Erdogan said. "I wish that American people's choice will lead to new steps within the scope of fundamental rights and liberties, democracy and developments in our region."

"I wish a successful future to the United States, interpreting the American people's choice favorably," he said.