The Gülen affiliated Taraf newspaper, claimed on Wednesday that Ankara was considering the proposal put forward by ISIS and was to withdraw Turkish troops from the territory where the 928-year old Tomb of Süleyman Shah laid, in return for the release of the Turkish diplomats of the Mosul consulate who were seized by ISIS in June.
Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs released a statement denying the claims deeming them as groundless and irresponsible. Davutoğlu asserted the rootless allegations as "precedents of irresponsibility" as the statement read "In such a sensitive issue, people ought to act in accordance with ethics of journalism and press and misleading public opinion by unwarranted, irresponsible and speculative publications, must be avoided."
Davutoğlu invited all media associations to show sensibility towards such a critical issue. He also underlined that all governmental institutions were exerting to bring all 49 members of the consulate home to safety.
Furthermore the Taraf newspaper alleged that three weeks were given to Turkey to withdraw its troops and that Turkey's General Staff instructed for the area to be evacuated.
The Taraf reporter Hüseyin Özay has previously written controversial and delusive pieces, yet his allegations have been refuted by the accused parties in all cases.
The Tomb of Süleyman Shah is the exclave of Turkey settled on the Euphrates riverside in Manbij District. Under Treaty of Ankara signed with France in 1921, Turkey claimed the right to deploy soldiers on the territory and permanently guard it. The almost 11.000 m2 territory hosts the graves of Süleyman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I [the founder of Ottoman Empire] and his two bodyguards.
