Two pilots kidnapped in Lebanon alive, Turkish Deputy PM Arınç says

ANKARA

DHA Photo

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said Monday the two pilots kidnapped in Lebanon earlier this month are alive, and that it knows roughly where they are.
 
The Turkish Airlines pilots were kidnapped on Aug. 9 when gunmen ambushed a bus carrying the national airliner’s crew from Beirut airport to a hotel in the city. “Their whereabouts are more or less known. We know that they are alive, in peace and comfort,” Arınç told reporters after a cabinet meeting. “I hope we will reach them soon,” he added.
 
A previously unknown group calling itself Zuwwar Imam al-Rida has claimed the kidnapping, demanding Turkey use its influence with Syria’s rebels to secure the release of nine Lebanese Shiites kidnapped in Syria in May 2012. Lebanese authorities have arrested three suspects and charged them in connection with the abduction. The pilots were kidnapped in a majority Shiite area of Beirut, controlled mainly by the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, a close ally of President Bashar al-Assad. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has denied any involvement in the kidnapping

'Steady foreign policy' on Syria and Egypt

The Turkish government's foreign policy has been steady since developments in both Syria and Egypt began and its stance is appreciated, Arınç said, following this week's Cabinet meeting on Aug. 19.

For both Syria and Egypt, [we have] decided that the foreign policy followed by Turkey since the beginning has been consistent," Arınç said. "It is obvious that Turkey is following a steady and intimate policy against the incidents that occured after the coup in Egypt, and Turkey's stance is appreciated. This policy will continue."

Arınç also added that it was “out of the question” for Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Hüseyin Avni Botsalı to return to Egypt soon.

Botsalı was called back to Ankara for consultations following the Egyptian security forces’ brutal recent intervention against protesters. He also attended Cabinet meeting, at which he provided information about the latest incidents in Egypt for two hours.

Arınç also took the opportunity to comment on Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) chief Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, saying that more was expected from him to announce to the world what was happening in Egypt.

Senior Turkish government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, have recently taken aim at İhsanoğlu, over the organization’s perceived inaction following the Egyptian army’s heavy crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters. Bozdağ called on the OIC chief to resign for “dishonorable passivity.”

An additional Agence France-Presse story was used in this report.