Turkey Says They Have Arrested Diplomat Who Sells Passports To Syrians, US State Department: Just Ordinary Citizen

US passport illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Kristin Hardwick)

JAKARTA - The United States (US) authorities have denied selling passports to Syrians who were arrested by Turkish police as diplomats, calling them ordinary citizens.

Turkish police on Wednesday said they arrested a US diplomat in Turkey last month for selling his passport to a Syrian trying to travel to Germany.

Identifying the man with the initials DJK, Istanbul police said he worked at the United States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.

"We are aware of the detention of a US citizen in Turkey. The person is not a US diplomat. We are providing appropriate consular services," a US State Department official said, but gave no further details, citing Reuters December 23.

Meanwhile, Turkish Police said they have video evidence of individuals exchanging clothes with Syrians at Istanbul airport before handing over diplomatic passports, which have been identified as suspicious at passport control.

The man was found with $10.000 in cash in an envelope, arrested, and remains in custody, the Turkish police said in a statement.

To note, relations between Turkey and the United States have been strained in recent years due to a number of issues, ranging from Ankara's purchase of Russian defense systems and disagreements over Syria policy.

Washington is also upset over Istanbul's detention of a locally employed US diplomatic mission worker accused of links to a network that Ankara blames for a failed coup attempt in 2016.