Turkey backs al-Qaeda in Syria: Former US envoy

A former US ambassador to Ankara has accused Turkey of directly supporting al-Qaeda’s terrorist activities in Syria.

Francis Ricciardone, who was the US envoy to Ankara until late June, said that the Turkish authorities thought they could work with extremist groups operating inside Syria and at the same time push them to become more moderate.

According to press tv, this led Ankara to work with the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, as well as other militant groups, including Ahrar al-Sham.

 Ricciardone further noted that he tried to convince the Turkish government to close its borders to the groups, but of no avail.

From the start of the crisis in Syria over three years ago, Turkey allowed its borders to be used as a conduit for aid, weapons and militants heading to the Arab country.

Washington itself has also been one of the strong supporters of militancy in the region through funding and supporting militant groups.

Damascus has repeatedly said the US and its regional allies– especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey– have been providing the militants with funding, weapons and military trainings.

Reports have also shown that the US Central Intelligence Agency has been covertly training the foreign-sponsored Syria militants in neighboring Jordan.

American officials also said on September 10 that Saudi Arabia has agreed to a request from the US administration to provide bases to train militants fighting against the Syrian government.

M.Wassouf