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Turkish hostages released after negotiations, says Erdogan
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday dozens of Turkish hostages held by ISIS militants in Iraq had been freed as a result of negotiations and no ransom had been paid for their release.
Forty-six Turks abducted by ISIS militants in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul were freed and returned to Turkey on Saturday after more than three months in captivity, in what Erdogan described as a “secret rescue operation” by Turkey's spy agency. Asked whether hostages had been released in exchange for ISIS militants, Erdogan said: “It doesn't matter whether there was a swap or not. The most important thing is they (the hostages) are back and reunited with their families.” Turkish diplomats and their children were seized along with special forces officers in their country's consulate on June 11 as ISIS militants overran Mosul and whole swathes of northern Iraq. Turkey, a Nato member and Washington's key ally in the region, has been reluctant to take part in combat operations against ISIS militants, or allow a US-led coalition to use its airbases for strikes against the militants, citing concern over for the safety of its hostages. Erdogan signalled Turkey may reconsider its position now that the hostages have been released. “We could have said yeswhen they asked us to join the coalition, but we couldn't do it at that time. We told them that we cannot take any steps until the hostage issue has been resolved,” he said. “We said we cannot play a role in the coalition, but we will map out a roadmap after intensive negotiations with coalition members,” he said. Posted by: Steve White 2014-09-22 |
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