Do note the terminology used...my people..my country? This is the whole Turkish truth and nothing but the Turkish truth.... Political bargaining and diplomacy played a key role in freeing 49 hostages from extremist jihadists, Turkey’s president has said, denying that a ransom was paid but hinting that a swap deal might have taken place to save the country’s Mosul consul general and 48 others. “I do not know what they mean by bargaining. If they refer to materialistic bargaining, it’s totally out of the question. But if they talk about diplomatic bargaining, yes, it’s certainly true. This is a diplomatic success, the result of a political bargain,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters at a press conference he held before his departure to the United States Sept. 21. His statement was the answer to a question about claims that Turkey made a deal with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to end 101 days of captivity of 49 hostages. While Erdoğan categorically ruled out that a ransom was paid to ISIL, he implied that a swap deal with jihadists could have occurred. Responding to a question over claims that Turkey agreed to release three ISIL militants in return for 49 hostages, Erdoğan said: “Whether there was a swap or not. Of course, everybody will write something about it. What we look at here is: Whether a swap has taken place or not, our 49 citizens returned to Turkey. Even if this swap took place, as the president, I always look after my 49 citizens. Nothing can be of more value than my citizens. They are now back to my country.”
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 16:12:32 +0000