Nordic Monitor

32) The conversation in the audio recording also focuses on whether the Turkish military should enter Syria to protect the tomb of Suleiman Shah, the grandfather of Sultan Osman I, founder of the Ottoman dynasty.

33) The tomb used to be located at Jaber Castle, a historic fortification within Syria’s borders and a highly sensitive location protected by a Turkish army contingent. It was later moved to another location after the castle was flooded due to dam construction.

34) In early 2015 Turkey moved the tomb 22 kilometers (14 miles) west of Kobani to protect it from the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

35) According to the Treaty of Ankara, which was signed on Oct. 20, 1921 between colonial power France and the Turkish Parliament, the compound housing the tomb of Suleiman Shah is considered Turkish territory. The 2003 protocol between Turkey and Syria gave Turkey transit rights

36) The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the audio at the time, saying the recording of the highly sensitive meeting attended by people who are responsible for the security of Turkey was leaked to social media and claimed that it had been tampered with.

37) In an attempt to spin the story, the Foreign Ministry said the senior officials were meeting to make a contingency plan in the event of an attack on the tomb of Suleiman Shah, and it reaffirmed Turkey’s determination to defend the tomb.

38) Yet Turkish court documents, revealed in January 2019, did not include any claim of tampering and did not support the Foreign Ministry’s statement, which was an apparent attempt to contain the damage and manipulate the leak.

39) In the recording the voice of Davutoğlu can be heard saying that the “prime minister said this [Jaber Castle] must be considered an opportunity at this juncture.” Two weeks before the leak, clashes between FSA and ISIL had intensified in the region around the castle.

40) When in the recording Fidan asked why they were being persistent on pushing an attack on the tomb of Suleiman Shah, Davutoğlu responded by saying that the pretext for an incursion must be acceptable to the international community.

41) The Turkish foreign minister also said, “Without a strong pretext, we cannot tell US Secretary of State [John] Kerry that we need to take extraordinary measures.” Davutoğlu added that Kerry had asked him whether Turkey was determined to strike Syria.

42) According to the audio file, Fidan said: “If needed, I would dispatch four men to Syria. [Then] I would have them fire eight mortar shells at the Turkish side and create an excuse for war. We can have them attack the tomb of Suleiman Shah as well.”

43) Undersecretary Sinirlioğlu, who serves as Turkey’s ambassador to UN now, was also recorded as saying that Turkey’s national security had turned into cheap material for domestic political consumption. Gen. Güler warned, “What we are going to do is a direct reason for war.”