Turkish FM Says 32 Diplomats Failed to Return After Post-Coup Attempt Recall

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that a total of 32 Turkish diplomats failed to return to Turkey after the military coup attempt.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A total of 32 diplomats failed to return to Turkey despite being recalled in the wake of the military coup attempt, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday.

Speaking at a news conference in Ankara, Cavusoglu said that 208 Foreign Ministry employees have been recalled, of whom 32 failed to return, the Anadolu news agency reported. He specified that two personnel based in Bangladesh had fled to the United States.

“Some of them escaped by sea, some of them escaped by air. Some of them we have not confirmed their whereabouts. We will locate them shortly,” the minister said.

Earlier in the day, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik confirmed that two military attaches escaped from Greece to Italy.

On July 15, the Turkish authorities said that an attempted coup was taking place in the country, which was suppressed the next day. Over 13,000 people have been detained in connection with the coup. Ankara believes that Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen and his supporters were seeking to overthrow the current government. The Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO)/Parallel State Structure (PDY), made up of Gulen's supporters, is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.