Turkish PM to meet top US officer

By Mumin Altas

ANKARA (AA) - Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will meet the highest ranking U.S. military officer Monday, a source at the prime minister’s office said Sunday.

The meeting with Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will come after comments by senior U.S. military figures that have been viewed by Turkey as showing tacit support for the officers behind the July 15 attempted coup. Ankara has also increased pressure on Washington to extradite U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, named by the Turkish government as the mastermind of the attempted putsch.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, did not give any further details of the meeting, which is due to take place at Cankaya Palace in Ankara.

Dunford, who was the Marine Corps commandant before he was appointed to his new role last October, is President Barack Obama’s principal military advisor. He will arrive Sunday from Baghdad, where he met Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi.

As well as NATO ties, the U.S. and Turkey are cooperating in the fight against Daesh. The Incirlik air base in southern Turkey is used by the U.S. to launch air missions in Syria.