Turkish Hostages Released by IS after 'Negotiations', Says Erdogan
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday dozens of Turkish hostages held by Islamic State militants in Iraq had been freed as a result of negotiations and no ransom had been paid for their release.
"A bargain for money is totally out of the question. There were only diplomatic and political negotiations. And this is a diplomatic victory," Erdogan told reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport before departing for New York for a U.N. General Assembly meeting.
Forty-six Turks abducted by Islamic State 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 IS 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 IS 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 Islamic State militants, or allow a U.S.-led coalition to use its airbases for strikes against the jihadists, citing concern over for the safety of its hostages.
Erdogan signaled Turkey may reconsider its position now that the hostages have been released.
"We could have said 'yes' when 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.
Source: Agence France Presse
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