Turkey ready to work with Russia in fight against ISIS, but no mention of Incirlik base – Ankara
RT,
4 July, 2016
The Turkish foreign minister has said Ankara would cooperate with any country in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, including Russia, but stressed that he did not intend to offer Incirlik airbase for use by the Russian Air Force.
Earlier on Monday, news agencies cited Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as telling national TV channel TRT that Ankara would cooperate with “everybody who is fighting Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL].”
“Ankara has opened the Incirlik airbase to all those wishing to join the active fight. Why not cooperate with Russia in the same manner?” Cavusoglu said.
Several hours later Cavusoglu denied mentioning Russia’s possible presence at Incirlik.
“I did not make such a comment. We said that we could cooperate with everyone in the fight against ISIS," Reuters quoted Cavusoglu as saying in comments broadcast live on television.
“We said that we could cooperate with Russia in the period ahead in the fight against Daesh [Islamic State]. I did not make any comment referring to Russian planes coming to the Incirlik airbase,” Cavusoglu said, as cited by Reuters.
The Russian and Turkish special services are yet to revive channels for sharing information between intelligence agencies, which have been inactive for some time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the time has come for them to be “reloaded” and made fully-functional again.
Peskov made the point that to his knowledge, the Russian and Turkish militaries have not yet resumed official communication.
Commenting on allegations that Russian citizens could have been involved in performing the terror acts that struck Istanbul’s international airport last week, Peskov said this serves as yet more proof of how important the contact between the security services is, and shows that the information they exchange must be reacted to in the proper way.
Peskov said that Russian security services informed their European colleagues about those who are now suspected of staging the terror attacks in Turkey, and that the terror suspects had visited a number of European states, as well as Turkey.
RT,
4 July, 2016
The Turkish foreign minister has said Ankara would cooperate with any country in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, including Russia, but stressed that he did not intend to offer Incirlik airbase for use by the Russian Air Force.
Earlier on Monday, news agencies cited Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as telling national TV channel TRT that Ankara would cooperate with “everybody who is fighting Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL].”
“Ankara has opened the Incirlik airbase to all those wishing to join the active fight. Why not cooperate with Russia in the same manner?” Cavusoglu said.
Several hours later Cavusoglu denied mentioning Russia’s possible presence at Incirlik.
“I did not make such a comment. We said that we could cooperate with everyone in the fight against ISIS," Reuters quoted Cavusoglu as saying in comments broadcast live on television.
“We said that we could cooperate with Russia in the period ahead in the fight against Daesh [Islamic State]. I did not make any comment referring to Russian planes coming to the Incirlik airbase,” Cavusoglu said, as cited by Reuters.
The Russian and Turkish special services are yet to revive channels for sharing information between intelligence agencies, which have been inactive for some time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the time has come for them to be “reloaded” and made fully-functional again.
Peskov made the point that to his knowledge, the Russian and Turkish militaries have not yet resumed official communication.
Commenting on allegations that Russian citizens could have been involved in performing the terror acts that struck Istanbul’s international airport last week, Peskov said this serves as yet more proof of how important the contact between the security services is, and shows that the information they exchange must be reacted to in the proper way.
Peskov said that Russian security services informed their European colleagues about those who are now suspected of staging the terror attacks in Turkey, and that the terror suspects had visited a number of European states, as well as Turkey.
Istanbul Turns Into A Ghost Town As Tourism Collapses
In the aftermath of the tragic suicide bomber attacks at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Turkey's biggest city now feels like a ghost town.
Restaurants
sit empty in the Sultanahmet tourist district, and five-star hotel
rooms can be booked for bargain prices. As AFPreports,
in better times, the queues outside the Hagia
Sophia (a
former mosque and church that is now a museum) might have stretched
an hour or longer at this time of year, today you can walk straight
in and share the place with just a smattering of other visitors.
"It's
disastrous. All my life I've been a tour guide, most of us have come
to a turning point where we don't know if we can go on. It's tragic."
said Orhan Sonmez, hopelessly offering tours of the Hagia Sophia.
Analysts
say the attack on Istanbul's airport may have been a deliberate
attempt to weaken the Turkish state by hitting its tourist industry,
and it appears to be working.
The United States, Germany and several other countries have warned
their nationals against threats in Turkey, and to make matters worse,
the TAK, a radical Kurdish group that has carried out several attacks
in Turkey this year has also warned foreign tourists to stay away.
This
development comes at a time when Turkey had just suffered its worst
drop-off in visits in 22 years in the month of May, which was down
35% from a year ago. The
tourism industry, which according to AFP brings in over $33 billion a
year, is now in a free fall.
Part
of the downturn was driven by a Russian ban on Turkish package
holidays, but the ban has since been lifted, providing at least a
small relief for the industry.
Those
that are still visiting say they are enjoying the peace and quiet,
while taking a more philosophical approach as AFP puts it. "This
could happen in any city, it's an unlucky lottery.
The people are really friendly, and I really think I'll come back and
spend some more time here." said Nessa Feehan, a visitor for
Ireland.
However,
the situation is still dire for many who depend on tourism to make a
living.
"If
it goes on like this, many shops will close. I'm thinking of moving
to America, I can't make money here." said Ismail Celebi, an
owner of a jewellery shop. Even though large Chinese tour groups are
still arriving, Celebi says "It's
not enough, we need Americans, we need Europeans."
"Even
I'm afraid to come to work here"
Celebi went on to say.
*
* *
These
recent security concerns as well as the economic hits that Turkey has
endured as a result of the attacks and overall tension in the region
are key factors in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's pivot to a softer
approach in an attempt to strengthen diplomatic ties. As
we reported last
week, Erdogan even apologized to Vladimir Putin for the death of a
Russian pilot, and even called Russia a "friend and a strategic
partner."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.