Turkish Justice Minister Abdul Hamid Gul said on Friday that US authorities should hand over a commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to Ankara when he enters the United States, after Ankara criticized Washington's treatment of him as a "legitimate political figure."
Gul told reporters that Turkey would ask the US authorities to detain Mazloum once he entered the United States, adding that the State Department had transferred the extradition request to Washington.
Turkey issued a red arrest warrant for Abdi, whose real name is Farhad Abdi Shaheen, and sent a copy to Washington. Gul said the warrant was in force in 196 countries.
"The United States of America is among the countries that are working on this agreement, and yesterday we forwarded this newsletter to America. This person should not in any way hold any meetings in the United States.
On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the United States to extradite Abdi.
US senators urged the State Department on Wednesday to speed up granting Mazloum Abdi a visa so he could visit the United States and discuss the situation in Syria.
Relations between Washington and Ankara soured after the start of the Turkish military operation in Syria, but US President Donald Trump hinted on Wednesday that he would hold his scheduled meeting with Erdogan on November 13 at the White House.