The police identified the diplomat as “DJK” and said he was working at the US Embassy in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
A US State Department official said: “We are aware of the detention of a US citizen in Turkey. He is not a US diplomat. We are providing appropriate consular services.” The official did not disclose further details.
The police indicated that they had evidence represented in a video of the diplomat exchanging clothes with the Syrian at Istanbul airport before handing over the diplomatic passport, which the passport authorities suspected.
A police statement stated that the diplomat was arrested, and an envelope containing ten thousand dollars was found in his possession, and that he is still being held.
Relations between Turkey and the United States have been strained in recent years for many reasons, including Ankara’s purchase of Russian defense systems and differences over policy toward Syria.
Washington has also been angered by Turkey’s detention of local staff at the US diplomatic mission for alleged ties to a network that Ankara blames for the failed 2016 coup attempt.
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