Mufti Qabbani: Turkey is not a kidnapping state

Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani, wrapped up his visit to Turkey with a meeting with its Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu whereby he denounced counter abduction of Turkish nationals in Lebanon as retribution to the kidnapping of Lebanese in Syria, asserting that this was misplaced vengeance as Turkey was not at fault in the kidnapping of the Lebanese, but simply played the role of mediator for their release.    

"Turkey is capable of playing an active role in the security of the Arab region and in fending off foreign ambitions," said the Mufti.       

"Turkey is not a kidnapping state...and it is exerting all efforts for the release [of abducted Lebanese]...hence, the reaction of certain Lebanese should not be by abducting  Turkish nationals residing on Lebanese territories, because it harms amicable relations between both countries."   

The Foreign Minister, in turn, expressed Turkey's deepest sympathies with Lebanon and its people and asserted that the Turkish administration did not discriminate between one sect and the other but was rather interested in the stability of Lebanon and the Arab region as a whole.

11 Lebanese pilgrims on their way back from Iran were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo late last May (One of them was released last August).
This was followed by the abduction of Lebanese national Hassan Meqdad in Damascus last month which was met by severe escalation from his clan in Lebanon, whereby some of its members went on a kidnapping spree and claimed responsibility for the disappearance of several Syrians and a Turkish citizen.