Turkey says will not link fate of FETÖ leader Gülen to Khashoggi

Turkey has ruled out any deal with the United States to scale down its investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi if the U.S. expels Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) leader Fetullah Gülen

NBC News reported on Thursday that the Trump administration was exploring ways to remove cleric Fethullah Gülen and persuade President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to ease pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing. The White House said the story was "not accurate".

A senior Turkish official said the issues of Gülen's extradition, which Turkey has long sought, and the investigation into who was behind Khashoggi's killing at Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate last month, were separate issues.

"At no point did Turkey offer to hold back on the Khashoggi investigation in return for Fethullah Gülen's extradition," the official said. "We have no intention to intervene in the Khashoggi investigation in return for any political or legal favour."

Erdoğan has said the order for Khashoggi's killing came from the highest levels of the Saudi leadership. Washington on Thursday announced sanctions over the killings, targeting 17 Saudi officials but not the Riyadh government - an important U.S. security and economic ally.

Erdoğan has long demanded that Washington extradite Gülen, orchestrated Turkey's July 15 coup attempt and is the mastermind behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Since the failed coup, operations have been ongoing in the military, police and judiciary as well as in state institutions across the country to arrest suspects with alleged links to FETÖ.

U.S. officials have said the courts need sufficient evidence to extradite the cleric.