Turkey 'did not allow weapons to be supplied' to rebel groups in Syria

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has dismissed claims that Turkey has supported the arming of fighters in Syria and Iraq.

“Turkey has not allowed arms support and border crossings to armed fighters in Syria, including the Free Syrian Army [FSA]. It has only allowed humanitarian aid,” Arınç told reporters on June 13.

He said Turkey had had in “no contact” with the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is currently spreading across northern Iraq. “Definitely, we were not in connection with these groups anyway. We obey all measures taken by United Nations Security Council decisions on the fight against terror and its financing. We have adopted these measures with our Cabinet decisions,” Arınç said.

The deputy prime minister added that “according to government records,” Turkey had not
“deliberatively” allowed any weapons, financial aid or fighters into Syria or Iraq.

“Our Western friends also say that Turkey acts responsibly on this issue,” he said, noting that the government had taken measures on its borders, while not ruling out the possibility of a “small number of Turkish citizens” have joined the rebels in Syria.

Arınç also stated that neither the captured Turkish diplomats nor truck drivers had been freed in Mosul. He said the Turkish government had made contact by telephone with the hostages and they had “not been exposed to any bad treatment.”

“I hope we will get good news today, but the situation is still fragile,” he said, adding that Ankara was demanding that the groups release the truck drivers “as soon as possible.”

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