Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Monday said Turkey had filed official extradition requests for Mazloum Kobane, commander of the Syrian Kurdish militia, after they learned that Kobane would visit Germany and the United States in the coming weeks, the Turkish media reported.
Turkey deems the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) a terrorist organization, although the Kurdish militia is considered an ally in the Western countries’ fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
In October Turkey filed another extradition request with the US in addition to a request for a Red Notice from Interpol.
In a Washington visit last week Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pressed his US counterpart over the latter’s friendly stance on the YPG and its commander, Çavuşoğlu said.
“Thank you General Mazloum for your kind words and courage. Please extend my warmest regards to the Kurdish people. I look forward to seeing you soon,” President Donald Trump tweeted on Oct. 23.