Turkey remains one of the main channels of foreign fightersâ transit to territory under Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) control, Andrey Karlov, Russian ambassador to Turkey, told RIA Novosti.
Yet cooperation between Moscow and Ankara on terrorism issues leaves much to be desired, the diplomat acknowledged.
Turkey does not report to the Russian embassy when people with Russian passports are captured while trying to join IS. The Russian embassy often learns about such facts from media reports.
Yet Karlov sees no reason not to believe the stats voiced by Turkish Minister of the Interior Efkan Ala, who reported that in 2015 there were 2,783 foreign citizens from 89 countries detained in Turkey, of them about 100 were Russian citizens.
âIf a person suspected of having links to Islamic State is deported to such countries, our chances to arrest them come to naught,â Karlov said.
The Turkish side maintains that deportation to third countries is exercised âon the suspectsâ request.â
âI believe that if an IS suspect does not want to return to Russia, that serves additional confirmation he does have links to IS or wanted to join it,â Karlov said, stressing he knows of no instance when a Russian citizen was arrested or served a prison term in Turkey on terrorism charges.
He stressed that the current downturn in Russian-Turkish relations, caused by the attack on Russian Su-24 bomber over the Syrian territory, is not Moscowâs fault, as Ankara refuses to make any diplomatic steps internationally understood proper in similar cases.
âWe never said Turkey is an enemy country to us,â Karlov said, citing President Vladimir Putinâs statement that the Turkish people are a âfriendly nationâ to Russians.
âThe problem exists only with a certain part of the Turkish leadership, which is non-negotiable,â the diplomat said.
âWe expect official apology from the Turkish side, demand punishment of offenders and compensation for the damage,âKarlov said, stressing that without the abovementioned conditions being met, he sees âno possibility for normalization of bilateral relations.â
The incident with downed Su-24 is a âchallengeâ for the Russian state, and President Putinâs statement about âstab in the backâ was unambiguous, Karlov noted.
âPossibly, such reaction could be deemed emotional, but I cannot designate defense of State interests as an emotion,â Karlov said.
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