Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.8 / Trend, A.Taghiyeva /
Turkey is ready to help Iran release its citizens, kidnapped earlier in Syria, TRT Haber TV channel quotes Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying on Wednesday.
"Turkey previously acted as a mediator between the conflict sides. The country will provide assistance for the release of Iranian citizens kidnapped by Syrian opposition," Davutoglu said.
He also stressed that the disagreements between Turkey and Iran over Syria will not affect Turkey's activities related to the release of the Iranians.
According to Davutoglu, statements and threats of some Iranian officials against Turkey harm relations between the two countries and international image of Tehran.
On Aug. 4, some 48 Iranian nationals were kidnapped on the road leading from Damascus international airport to the Syrian capital. The bus, which the Iranians were in, was stopped on the outskirts of the capital at the checkpoint of militants. Video posted at YouTube on Sunday claims that the Iranians are not really pilgrims but members of the IRGC, who arrived in Syria with the intelligence mission. Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday denied reports that the Iranians taken hostage are the servicemen of the IRGC.