Ankara offers assistance to Paris on terror attack

Sevil Erkuş - sevil.erkus@hurriyet.com.tr

AP Photo

Turkey has officially proposed cooperation to France in investigating the fatal Charlie Hebdo attack and expressed its readiness to provide any kind of institutional support, the Turkish ambassador to France has said.

The support message was delivered by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu during a phone conversation with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius late on Jan. 7, Turkish Ambassador to Paris Hakkı Akil told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday.

France welcomed the Turkish proposal, diplomatic sources said, adding that Ankara’s offer was a comprehensive one that contained both political and intelligence means. Turkey and France have already been in close and intense cooperation in stopping the recruitment of French foreign fighters by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

There is no information yet as to whether the perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo attack had fought alongside extremist jihadists in Syria or in Iraq.

The way in which the crisis is handled will determine if the incident leads to open fissures in the social integrity of France and in Europe, Akil reportedly said, adding that governments "should not allow policies that lead to polarization."

“No excuse validates terrorism,” he added, while lamenting "rising Islamophobia and xenophobia in Europe."