The Syrian writer and politician Ayman Abdulnour told North Press that the closure wasn’t for political reasons related to the change in the Turkish policies toward the opposition, stressing that Ahmed Bakura, head of the office, is still on duty, but without a rented office.
“I learned from sources close to the SNC that the coalition’s offices in other Turkish cities are still open. As for the Ankara’s office, it was closed for purely financial reasons and a self-decision taken by the SNC in isolation from Turkey,” Abdulnour said.
“Ahmed Bakura, head of the SNC office in Ankara, is still doing the same work and follow-up with the coordination committee and with Turkey, but without an office,” he added.
The office was closed “to reduce expenses and restructure the budget of the SNC, which has several foreign offices in important capitals around the world,” Abdulnour said.
On Sunday, the Lebanese al-Modon website published an article in which it said Turkey had closed the SNC office in Ankara, which is usually concerned with the affairs of the Syrians displaced to Turkey.
The article attributed the closure to political reasons related to the desire of the Turkish ruling party to convince the Turkish voter of Turkey’s tendency to reduce the number of refugees.
On February 4, the official website of the SNC published a news about a meeting between the head of SNC, Salem al-Maslat, and the Turkish Vice President Fuad Oktay to discuss the Syrian issue and the situation of the Syrian refugees in Turkey.
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