Turkish Ambassador to France Ismail Hakki Musa confirmed the existence of an espionage case between the two countries, days after the appearance of information published by a pro-government Turkish newspaper, amid a bilateral diplomatic crisis.
According to an article published by the newspaper "Sabah" on June 22, a former employee of the security service of the French consulate, Metin Ozdemir, went to the police station and revealed that he had gathered information for the French external intelligence.
The newspaper said that four people were arrested on suspicion of spying on religious associations and circles for France.
Moussa answered a question on this issue before the French Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, becoming the first Turkish official to address the file.
The Turkish ambassador said, "This issue is closely examined by the French foreign intelligence and the Turkish intelligence service, and there is an exchange between the two agencies on this issue two years ago."
He explained that the presence of echoes on the file in the newspapers a few days ago has nothing to do with what is happening, in reference to the diplomatic tension between Paris and Ankara.
Tension is currently prevailing in the relationship between the two countries following mutual accusations about Libya, following the defeats of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar and French-backed, when he lost all his strongholds in the Libyan West by the forces of the Turkish-backed National Accord government.
Paris did not publicly talk about the spying file, and the Foreign Ministry refused to "comment on press rumors."
According to the Turkish newspaper, Ozdemir announced that he had given the French information about 120 people, including imams, in exchange for monthly sums of money, and promised to join a French army unit that included foreign soldiers.
The newspaper added that Ozdemir, who claimed to be a member of the Turkish Intelligence Service investigating ISIS activities, had recruited three people, an employee of an Istanbul Municipality institution that manages water distribution, a person working in communications, and a hotel owner in Istanbul.
The "espionage network", as the newspaper called it, was charged with gathering information about "conservative societies" and the presidency of Turkish religious affairs.
According to the newspaper, the four men gathered information about the Association for Women and Democracy, which is contributed to the supervision of the youngest daughter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ozdemir has surrendered to the Turkish authorities after a dispute with the French agents, while the four men will be tried for espionage at a date yet to be determined, according to the newspaper.