Turkish President's Senior Aide: Abduction of Pilgrims in Syria Local Lebanese Affair

The Senior Adviser to the Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Arshad Hurmuzlu, stressed on Monday that the case of the kidnapped Lebanese pilgrims in Syria is a local affair, pointing out that efforts are ongoing to free the men.

“It is wrong to deal with the case on the basis that it's a Lebanese-Turkish affair,” Hurmuzlu told An Nahar newspaper.

He described the kidnapping approach as “medieval.”

Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo district in May as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage in Iran.

Two of the captives were released last year, while the rest remain held in Aazaz.

“We have limited capabilities,” the Turkish official noted, saying that the Turkish-Qatari-Iranian negotiations led to the release of the Iranian abductees.

Last week, 48 Iranians held hostage by Syrian rebels for five months arrived in a Damascus hotel after being freed in a prisoner swap for more than 2,000 regime prisoners.

“The two cases are different... Some international pressure was exerted to press the release of the Iranians,” Hurmuzlu stated.

Asked about the impact of the threats carried out by the families of the kidnapped pilgrims to target Turkish interests on the Lebanese-Turkish bilateral ties, he said that “the kidnapped men are not in Turkish hands, and the matter isn't between the two countries.”

Late in 2012, the families vowed to stage escalatory measures against Turkish interests in Lebanon in order to pressure Turkey to exert efforts to end the abduction.

Earlier in January, the families also staged a sit-in outside the headquarters of Turkish Airlines in downtown Beirut, preventing staff from entering their offices, to press for the release of their loved ones.

The families of the pilgrims had held Turkey and Qatar responsible for the negotiations.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and General Security chief Brig. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim are expected to head to Qatar on Tuesday to press negotiations in the case.