Mansour: Turkey not involved in abduction of Lebanese pilgrims in Syria

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour expected Wednesday that the issue of displaced Syrians will be discussed at tomorrow’s cabinet session on the sidelines of the agenda, adding “Lebanon has never stopped following up on the issue of Lebanese abductees in Syria."     

Mansour told Sawt Lebnan radio (Voice of Lebanon) that Turkey is not involved in any way in the abduction of the Lebanese pilgrims in Syria, adding that there were no updates regarding these hostages.   

"Turkey has nothing to do with the abduction of the Lebanese hostages in Syria," the minister said, calling on Ankara to take some course of action to distance itself the Free Syrian Army. 

Mansour said that since the beginning, Turkey spared no effort to speed up the release of the Lebanese abductees by contacting the abductors. “The calls of the abductees’ relatives are based on their conviction that Turkey can help in the release of their loved ones, thanks to its strong ties with the Syrian rebels,” he said. 

The minister added that the Lebanese authorities have sent delegations to Turkey and met with Turkish officials with the help of Iran to release the hostages.        

Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped on their way back from Iran by insurgents hoping to use them for a prisoner swap on the 20th of May. Only two have so far been released.