New head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe held secret talks with ISIS

A highly controversial figure aligned with Turkish Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been elected secretary general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a 57-member regional security organization covering North America, Europe and Central Europe. Asia, currently facing serious difficulties due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Feridun Sinirliolu, a career diplomat with a controversial past, including conducting secret negotiations with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and advocating a false flag operation in Syria to justify an armed invasion, has was appointed Secretary General of the OSCE on December 6. 2024.

His appointment took place during the Maltese presidency, at a time when the OSCE, founded during the Cold War to promote peace, stability and cooperation through dialogue on conflict prevention, human rights and arms control, was paralyzed by obstruction from Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. blocked key decisions within the organization.

Sinirliolu was not on the initial list of leading candidates proposed by Malta, the current OSCE chair, earlier this year. The leading candidate for the position was Igli Hasani, Albanian Foreign Minister and senior OSCE member, who had won the support of the majority of member states.

However, political infighting among member states, exploiting the OSCE's requirement of unanimity for decision-making, prevented Hasani from becoming a unified candidate. Strangely, Turkey, with the unexpected support of its Greek rival who had appointed Maria Telalian, legal advisor to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as head of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), managed to make Sinirliolu a compromise candidate. .

Russia, which traditionally exercises significant influence within the OSCE, also chose to support the Turkish candidate, given Ankara's decision to refrain from participating in Western sanctions against Russia and its role in circumvention of financial and economic restrictions across Turkish territory.

This is not the first time that Turkey has obstructed the process of selecting candidates for the top leadership of the OSCE. In 2020, Ankara blocked a set of leadership proposals after the ODIHR allowed the participation of human rights organizations critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government on issues including the rule of law , repression of the media and violations of fundamental human rights.

Turkey has falsely labeled several international human rights organizations as terrorists and has vehemently criticized the OSCE for involving its representatives in human rights events. Accusing critics and opponents of false accusations of terrorism has become a hallmark of the Erdogan government, which has wrongly imprisoned tens of thousands of dissidents over the past decade.

Although the OSCE no longer exercises the same influence it once did in European affairs and faces increasing pressure from some member states, it still exerts significant influence in areas such as observation of elections, control of press freedom and protection of the rights of national minorities.

Even if the position of Secretary General of the OSCE requires neutrality and independence, the profile of the Secretary General can nevertheless influence the functioning of the organization. Sinirliolu, a trusted loyalist of President Erdogan, should take advantage of any available leeway to shield Erdogan's repressive government from international scrutiny over violations of free and fair elections, violations of basic human rights and treatment minorities.

His background raises significant concerns about the role he could play as OSCE Secretary General. He proved to be more of a political and partisan operative than a career diplomat, often prioritizing political interests over traditional principles of diplomatic engagement.

Although he did not have the seniority typically required for the position, Erdogan appointed Sinirliolu as foreign ministry undersecretary in 2009, a position traditionally held for two to three years. However, Sinirliolu exceptionally held this position until 2016, far exceeding the usual tenure.

He was frequently accused of nepotism and abuse of department resources during his tenure as undersecretary. On one occasion, he allegedly charged tens of thousands of euros in personal meal costs for a single trip without providing invoices, leading to resentment within the ministry's accounting office.

While serving as undersecretary, Sinirliolu appointed his wife, Aye, to a high position within the ministry, making her deputy undersecretary in September 2014. He also illegally assigned his son the official residence of the Turkish consulate in Dubai for almost a year, even though the son was employed by a private British company. Sinirliolu blocked the appointment of a new general councilor to allow his son to continue to reside there.

In 2014, Sinirliolu was involved in a plot involving the deliberate surrender of the Turkish Consulate General and consulate staff in Mosul to ISIS, leading to them being held hostage by ISIS. The move was part of a strategy to facilitate negotiations with ISIS, leading to the release of ISIS detainees from Turkish prisons and financial gains through oil smuggling.

ztrk Ylmaz, then consul general in Mosul, accused the Turkish government of selling the hostages to profit from ISIS oil in Syria. He revealed that his numerous attempts to get Turkish authorities to launch airstrikes on advancing ISIS troops had been ignored and that emergency cables he had sent to Ankara had disappeared, suggesting that Sinirliolu was involved in a cover-up of the situation.

Sinirliolu has a long history of orchestrating covert operations for Erdogan, including discussions in 2014 of a false flag operation aimed at justifying a military invasion of Syria. Its involvement in such operations highlights a consistent pattern of using covert tactics to gain political and financial advantage.

He was one of the ardent supporters of armed conflict, as revealed in a recording leaked in March 2014 in which he, Hakan Fidan, then head of the Turkish intelligence agency (MIT), and others, discussed the possibility of a military intervention in Syria through a false flag operation orchestrated by MIT.

Sinirliolu was particularly hawkish at the meeting, arguing for a military invasion of Syria, while Fidan suggested ways to fabricate a pretext, saying: “If necessary, I would send four men to Syria “. [Then] I would ask them to fire eight mortar shells at the Turkish side and create a pretext for war.

However, the military resisted this idea until 2016, when Erdogan's government purged almost all NATO-affiliated officers who opposed the war in Syria following an attempted coup failed state effort, widely seen as a false flag operation.

The role of OSCE Secretary General grants Sinirliolu unique access to leaders and institutions at the national, regional and international levels, allowing him to gather intelligence on behalf of the Erdogan government and potentially influence decisions behind closed doors .