Turkey to eradicate presence of FETO terror group from Balkans: President

By Dilan Pamuk

ANKARA - Turkey will eradicate the presence of the “treacherous” Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) from the Balkans, the country’s president said on Wednesday.

In a video message marking the opening of the Turkish Consulate General in Servia’s Novi Pazar province, Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic for supporting Turkey’s fight against the FETO terror group.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 2016 in Turkey, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

Ankara 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.

Erdogan expressed hope that the new consulate general will contribute to the relations between Turkey and Serbia.

He underlined that the cooperation between the two countries has been improving in every field on a win-win basis, saying the Turkish businesspeople are carrying out projects that contribute to Serbia’s development and provide employment in the country.

He added the projects to be realized in the province will help the integration of Sandzak, a region that straddles Serbia and Montenegro.

The opening ceremony was attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selakovic, Turkish Ambassador to Belgrade Hami Aksoy, and Consul General in Novi Pazar Basar Basol.