Davutoglu: Turkey not involved in ransom talks with Taliban for Turkish hostages

Turkey is seeking to rescue eight Turkish hostages recently captured by the Taliban by means of a ransom. Furthermore, Aleppo's Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim were kidnapped on April 22 by armed men in Syria en route from the Turkish border. A Taliban spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the hostages were in good health. Touching on the issue, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey, like many other countries, would not, in principle, be involved in negotiations with the Taliban for the release of the hostages and that Turkey has been making efforts to ensure the captives' freedom through official channels. Davutoglu also discussed the issue in Brussels with his Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul, who said that he was personally following the issue.