Damascus asks Ankara for copy of Ocalan's confessions
Syria-Turkey, Politics, 6/30/1999

Well-informed Syrian sources described the Syrian - Turkish security meetings which concluded on Monday night as "positive and fruitful," noting that each side had pledged the other to "fully cooperate" in matters of concern to one another.

The sources added that the Syrian delegation asked for a copy of Ocalan's confessions in order to make sure of the Turkish claims in that there are "PKK elements, premises and bank accounts for the Kurdistani Workers Party in the Syrian territories."

The sources stated that the Turkish side seized the chance of having the chairman of the security department of the Syrian forces in Lebanon, Lt. Gen. Ghazi Kanaan, in the meetings, and "reiterated its request to have Lebanon in the bilateral committee."

The Syrian sources added that the Syrian reply was that, "This matter is of concern to Lebanon, which is a sovereign state, and you have diplomatic relations with it," noting that officials at the Lebanese Foreign Ministry had previously refused to join the committee because this committee is "merely a Turkish-Syrian committee and Lebanon has no connection to it nor a border existed between Lebanon and Turkey."

Previous Stories:
  On the Syrian-Turkish security meeting   (6/29/1999)
  Syrian-Turkish security meeting in Ghazi Eintab   (6/29/1999)
  Turkey commends improvement of relations with Syria   (4/30/1999)

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