Ankara condemns firing at Turkish fishing boat by Syrian security forces

ANKARA

Türkiye has condemned the firing on a Turkish fishing boat called Mahmutcan-1, which sailed from Adana Karataş port, by two ships belonging to the Syrian regime security forces on May 28, while sailing in international waters.

The incident caused minor injuries to the two fishermen and material damage to the boat, said the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç on May 28.

“We would like to state that we will be a follower of this sad event that took place in international waters and was the subject of the investigation of the Samandağ Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office,” Bilgiç added.

Under the mediation of Moscow and Tehran, Ankara and Damascus have launched talks for normalizing ties after more than a decade of incommunicado due to the civil war that started in the latter in 2011.

The defense and foreign ministers of the four sides have already held meetings in the past six months with expectations that the process will continue following the Turkish elections.