'Islamist' Turkish government co-operated with al-Qaeda in Syria, says former US ambassador.

'Islamist' Turkish government co-operated with al-Qaeda in Syria, says former US ambassador. (Telegraph).

Turkey has directly supported al-Qaeda's wing in Syria in defiance of the United States, the former American ambassador to Ankara has said. 

The Turkish authorities thought they could work with extremist Islamist groups in the Syrian civil war and at the same time push them to become more moderate, Francis Ricciardone, who was until late June the US ambassador to Ankara, told journalists in a briefing.

That led them to work with Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's branch, as well as hardline Salafi Islamist groups like Ahrar al-Sham. Mr Ricciardone said that he tried to persuade the Turkish government to close its borders to the groups, but to no avail.

"We ultimately had no choice but to agree to disagree," he said. "The Turks frankly worked with groups for a period, including al Nusra, whom we finally designated as we're not willing to work with."(* AlNusra was designated as an Al-Qaeda affiliate and on the UN Sanctions list!)

Turkey allowed its borders to be used as a conduit for aid, weapons and volunteers heading for the Syrian rebel cause from the start of the uprising, and there have long been accusations that it did not do enough to distinguish between "moderate" groups and extremists.

But this is the first time a senior American official - albeit one no longer in service - has said openly that Turkey was working with al-Qaeda.

Turkish analysts say the government is also worried about a wider backlash by Isil, which now has recruiting stations and supporters entrenched in the country.

"For a long time the Islamic State militants have operated under the policy of 'benign neglect'," said Sinan Ulgen, a former diplomat and head of the Istanbul foreign policy think-tank Edam. Hmmmm......If Israel would act in the same way Obama would have put every sanction in the book on them, but this is his BFF Erdogan. Read the full story here.

*Flashback 18 June 2014 - Obama's BFF And NATO 'Ally' Turkey REMOVES Al-Nusrah Front, Jabhet al-Nusrah, Jabhet al-Nusrah, The Victory Front from the terrorist org. list.

http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/pressreleases.shtml  

  http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/AQList.htm

Updated on 02 June 2014 - The List established and maintained by

the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee with respect to individuals, groups, undertakings and other entities associated with Al-Qaida

Related: Yet it is clear that Turkey has allowed jihadists to recruit, train, and supply rebel-held areas from Turkish territory. If Turkey had a problem with the growing power of jihadists in Syria, it had myriad ways to clip their wings. Instead, Turkey seems to have tolerated ISIS’s activities, even if it didn’t actually encourage them.