Ahead of Biden’s visit, the U.S. said it was considering a formal extradition request for Gulen from Turkey. But State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday that Turkey’s request was for alleged crimes unrelated to the failed coup. To that end, the U.S. was seeking further evidence from Turkey to substantiate its claim that Gulen was behind the overthrow attempt. U.S. leaders were incensed when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States of either supporting or backing the coup. For years, both Turkey and the U.S. have called for Assad’s ouster, insisting he can’t be part of Syria’s future government.

Source: National Post August 23, 2016 20:26 UTC