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13Apr16

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Letter from Turkey in response to Russian allegations on the illegal trafficking in weapons and ammunition to Syrian territory under ISIL control

United Nations
Security Council

S/2016/337

Distr.: General
13 April 2016
Original: English

Letter dated 12 April 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

Upon instructions from my Government, I have the honour to enclose herewith a note on the baseless allegations contained in the letter dated 18 March 2016 from the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation (S/2016/262) (see annex).

I would be grateful if the present letter and its annex could be circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Y. Halit Çevik
Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 12 April 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

The note attached to the letter of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation, entitled "Illegal trafficking in weapons and ammunition to Syrian territory under ISIL control", contains baseless allegations against Turkey which we totally reject. This letter is part and parcel of the smear campaign by the Russian Federation against Turkey.

Turkey regards DEASH/ISIL as a terrorist entity and a threat to its national security. Turkey's efforts both at the national level and in close cooperation with its partners to counter the threat by DEASH/ISIL, including its financing, are well known to the international community, as well as to the relevant United Nations entities, as stated in our letters S/2015/1029, S/2016/126 and S/2016/224, respectively dated 24 December 2015, 8 February 2016 and 8 March 2016.

Turkey fully abides by all its obligations under international law in the field of chemical weapons. However, the Syrian regime is directly and indirectly responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria. We expect the Russian Federation to use its influence on the regime to encourage it to respect international law, comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions, fulfil its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and fully cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons regarding the gaps, discrepancies and inconsistencies in its declarations.

Through its disinformation campaign, the Russian Federation aims at shifting the focus of the international community from the civilian deaths, havoc and enormous destruction caused in Syria by the regime and by the Russian military operations.

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