US has 'responsibility' to protect peace: Turkish PM

By Yildiz Nevin Gundogmus, Duygu Yener and Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) – The U.S. and Russia have significant responsibilities as world powers to protect global peace and security, said Turkey’s prime minister on the day a new U.S. president is being sworn in, adding that many countries of the world have expectations of the Trump administration.

Speaking to reporters after Friday prayers in Ankara, Binali Yildirim congratulated the incoming U.S. administration and wished Donald Trump good luck.

Yildirim also said Turkey expects Trump to lend more support to Turkey’s efforts to maintain peace in the region.

Yildirim said the U.S.-Turkish partnership has a deep-rooted history starting with NATO and added:

"There have been some problems in the past and there has been tension between the two countries."

Touching on the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), whose leader resides in the U.S., and the PYD, a Syrian affiliate of the terrorist PKK supported by the U.S., Yildirim said.

"We hope and what we expect [from the Trump administration] is that steps will be taken particularly to extradite FETO [leader Fetullah Gulen], the orchestrator of the July 15 coup attempt, to stop the support given to the terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria under the pretext of the fight against Daesh, and to fix the Turkish public’s negative perception of the U.S. administration," Yildirim said.

"The decisions Trump makes about transformation of the global economic crisis into global peace will be important."

According to Turkey’s government, Gulen masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt, which left at least 248 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara has also said FETO is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

The PKK, which resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015, is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU. Turkey points to the PYD as its Syrian affiliate.

Turkey considers the PYD a terrorist organization whereas the U.S. considers it a "reliable partner" and an "effective fighting force" against Daesh.

Since July 2015, over 1,100 people, including over 800 security personnel and over 300 civilians, have lost their lives due to PKK attacks. More than 4,000 security personnel and over 2,000 civilians have also been injured.