Statement of the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanju Bilgiç, in Response to a Question Regarding the Interview H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gave To the French Newspaper Le Monde on 4 July 2016

Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Dışişleri Bakanlığı 06.07.2016

QA-22, 6 July 2016

Today (6 July), there were reports on some media outlets, alleging thatH.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated in his interview with the French Newspaper Le Monde, which was published on July 4th, that “Turkey made a secret military deal with the USA on Manbij”.

In the said interview, in response to the Le Monde reporter’s question of “What kind of an agreement Turkey made with the USA regarding Manbij?”,Minister Cavusoglu stated that "As this is a matter of military cooperation between the two countries’ respective authorities, He could not provide information on the details of that military cooperation”.

In His interview, Minister Cavusoglu did not refer whatsoever to a "secret deal made with the USA on Manbij”.