Turkey examines reports on UK spying operations

ANKARA

Claims in documents obtained by a CIA whistleblower that Turkey was on the agency’s mission list from 2007 are under probe, says Gümrükçü.

Turkey has been examining recent reports that the United Kingdom has been bugging some allies, including Turkey, as part of revelations made by CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Foreign Ministry has said.

“We are examining the claims in legal and technical terms. If we see that the allegations are serious, then we will do what is necessary,” Ministry spokesman Levent Gümrükçü said today. He said Turkish officials had previously stressed that such espionage had no place in ties between friends and allies.

Italy’s L’Espresso magazine has recently claimed that U.K. agencies have been spying on a number of countries, including Turkey, through an operation base located on the island of Cyprus. 

The news magazine further claimed that U.S. auhorities were informed on the U.K. operations.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit Iraq, Iran and Myanmar in the near future, Gümrükçü said. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will also visit Moscow on Nov. 22 for a high-level cooperation meeting, during which the Syrian crisis will be high on the agenda, Gümrükçü said.