Defense Minister Radmila Sekerinska confirmed that Turkey demands steps to counter the Fethullah Gulen supporters in Macedonia , and warned that failure to extradite them could lead to delays in the Turkish ratification of the Macedonian NATO membership.

Previously, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said that a list of 15 people has been delivered and that Turkey demands their extradition. These are Macedonian residents who Turkey has charged with cooperating with the FETO terrorist organization led by Fethullah Gulen which is behind the 2016 attempted coup.

I don’t see a direct correlation in the request but I’m convinced that it will influence the speed with which Turkish authorities handle the ratification of our NATO accession, Sekerinska said.

Turkey has long demanded that Macedonia approaches the issue of FETO activities seriously. This includes the operation of FETO funded schools but also a recent move when the Government included the Zaman newspaper in the list of papers who receive state subsidies. Turkey claims that the paper is owned by FETO affiliated activists.

Turkey incensed after Zaev’s Government gives money to newspaper tied to Fethullah Gulen