EMBASSY ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE SPECULATIVE

NEWS REPORTS LINKING TURKISH CITIZENS

TO THE ERAWAN SHRINE BOMB ATTACK

The bomb attack at Erawan Shrine on 17 August 2015 caused tragic loss of lives and injuries. On 18 August 2015, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey sent a message of condolences to the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand. In his message, the Turkish Foreign Minister offered heartfeld condolences to the families of the victims and conveyed Turkey’s strong condemnation to this act of terror and its resolute stand in the fight against terrorism.

Turkey stands strongly against all kinds of terrorist acts, regardless of its source, origin and motive. Turkey continues to fight against terrorism.

Concerning the speculative news reports linking Turkish citizens to the Erawan Shrine bomb attack, Turkey has already conveyed its stand against terrorism to the Royal Thai Embassy in Ankara and expressed its readiness to cooperate with Thai authorities if they have any concrete information as to these speculations. This Embassy has also contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand in Bangkok on the subject.

In the light of all these, we follow with deep regret the speculative analyses and news reports trying to link Turkish citizens to the Erawan Shrine bomb attack and reiterate our solidarity with Thailand and our readiness to cooperate with Thai authorities.