ANKARA

Türkiye wants to strengthen its cooperation with Algeria in all areas, particularly in energy and natural gas, the Turkish president told his Algerian counterpart on Wednesday.

In a phone call with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Recep Tayyip Erdogan “expressed his pleasure over the exceptional level the relations between the two brotherly countries have reached as a result of joint efforts,” according to the Turkish Communications Directorate.

They also discussed relations between their countries as well as regional issues.

Erdogan also thanked Tebboune for his “sincere steps” in the fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 wounded.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.