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Turkish foreign minister rules out British spotters in Istanbul

March 5, 2015 at 11:45 am

The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, has ruled out the possibility of placing British “police spotters” in Istanbul on the pretext of stopping foreigners from travelling across the Turkish border to join militant groups, Anadolu agency reported.

Cavusoglu made the remarks to the media during the 49th International Tourism Bourse in the German capital city of Berlin on Wednesday.

Regarding claims that British police spotters might be placed in Istanbul, Cavusoglu said that: “This is out of question. We already have a great cooperation with the UK on intelligence sharing.”

On Tuesday, Keith Vaz, chair of the Commons Home Affairs Committee in London, said that: “Police spotters need to be placed in Istanbul so there can be immediate action taken.”

The Turkish foreign minister also highlighted that since January Ankara had deported 1,112 foreign fighters who were allegedly trying to join ISIS.