title: Turkey hopes for better cooperation with Trump on fighting terror: PM
text: ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday he hoped for an improvement in ties with the United States after Donald Trump’s election victory, and called for the extradition of the U.S.-based cleric Turkey blames for a failed July coup. President Tayyip Erdogan, whose relations with outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama have at times been strained, meanwhile said he hoped Trump’s victory would lead to “beneficial steps” for the Middle East and for basic rights and freedoms. Turkey has been frustrated by what it sees as Washington’s reluctance to hand over cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding an abortive putsch four months ago and who has lived in exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. “An area of opportunity has been created for the new president to advance relations with policies taking into account Turkey’s fight against terror,” Yildirim said in a speech broadcast on Turkish television. “A new page will be opened for Turkish-U.S. friendship if you soon hand over the terror group leader who has harmed the friendship between the U.S. and Turkey,” he said, in reference to Gulen. The cleric denies involvement in July’s failed coup. Turkey, a NATO member and sometimes fractious ally in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, has also been angered by U.S. support for the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria, which it sees as a hostile force linked to Kurdish militants who have fought the Turkish state for more than three decades. A senior Turkish official told Reuters that statements from Trump indicating he would withdraw support from “terror groups” was critically important for Turkey. “We expect the development of better relations in the period ahead,” the official said. “It is a positive development in itself that the United States will put a distance between itself and terror groups like the YPG, and it will be an important step for establishing healthier balances in the Middle East.” Erdogan made only brief reference to the U.S. election result at the end of a speech to a business forum in Istanbul. “I hope that this choice of the American people will lead to beneficial steps being taken for the world concerning basic rights and freedoms, democracy and developments in our region,” he said. 