WASHINGTON — Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim met with Vice President Mike Pence at the White House for over an hour today to try to clear the air over a series of issues that have quickly strained relations between Ankara and the Donald Trump administration. Those irritants include: Turkey’s request for the extradition of Pennsylvania-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose movement Turkey considers behind the coup attempt of July 15, 2016; the United States working in Syria with predominantly Kurdish fighters whom Turkey considers linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); the jailing of dozens of journalists and an American pastor in Turkey; and most recently, visa restrictions between the two countries.
The White House said Pence and Yildirim hoped to “usher in a new chapter” in US-Turkish relations.