Russian President Vladimir Putin has stopped short of endorsing Ankara’s allegation that Fethullah Gülen was behind Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt, saying President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan never told him the United States was involved and that he had no direct knowledge of Gülen’s role.
Putin made the remarks to US filmmaker Oliver Stone in The Putin Interviews, according to Sputnik’s Turkish service.
His comments are significant because Erdoğan has repeatedly portrayed Gülen, an Islamic scholar living in the United States, as a figure protected or backed by Washington.
Given Moscow’s rivalry with Washington and its improving ties with Ankara, Putin might have been expected to embrace Erdoğan’s claim if Russian intelligence had evidence supporting it.
Instead, Putin framed his remarks conditionally.
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan never told me that the US was involved in the coup attempt,” Putin said.
“But I can go by this logic: If Gülen was actually involved in the coup attempt — which I have no idea about — then it is very difficult to imagine that US intelligence forces were unaware of what was happening,” he added.
The wording drew attention because Putin did not say Russia had evidence that Gülen organized the attempted takeover.
Nor did he repeat Ankara’s core claim as fact.
Rather, he said that if Gülen had been involved, US intelligence would likely have known.
That distinction matters because Erdoğan’s government has sought to present Gülen and the movement inspired by him as the central organizers of the coup attempt, while also pressing Washington for Gülen’s extradition.
The Gülen movement, a transnational civic initiative inspired by Gülen, denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Putin also referred to İncirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, where the US Air Force operates.
“The American Air Force is located at the İncirlik base in Turkey,” Putin said. “And the soldiers at İncirlik took an active part in the coup attempt.”
His remarks appeared to refer to Turkish military personnel stationed at the base rather than US troops.
İncirlik became a focus of attention after the coup attempt because operations from the base were interrupted and Turkish authorities detained the Turkish base commander over alleged involvement in the attempted takeover.
Putin also raised concern about US tactical nuclear weapons believed to be stored in Turkey.
“When such dramatic events occur, this question mark comes to mind: What might happen to these nuclear weapons?” he said.
The comments came at a politically sensitive moment, as Turkey was demanding Gülen’s extradition from the United States and accusing Washington of failing to cooperate sufficiently.
For critics of Ankara’s account, Putin’s wording reinforces a central question: if Erdoğan has conclusive evidence that Gülen directed the coup attempt, why did Putin — with access to Russian intelligence and a clear interest in criticizing the United States — avoid saying so?
Putin’s remarks do not prove that Gülen was uninvolved.
But his refusal to affirm Ankara’s claim as fact adds weight to doubts over whether Erdoğan’s government has presented evidence conclusively identifying Gülen as the leader of the coup attempt.
