Turkey said that it had notified Syria's consulate in Istanbul of its shifting of the tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the Ottoman Empire's founder, from Aleppo to Turkey, according to its foreign minister.
After the Syrian government accused Ankara of its "transgression into Syrian territory" Turkish Foreign Minister Molud Chavosh Uglu said that a diplomatic note, dispatched to the consulate, highlights that "this land is Turkish and we will return it (the tomb) to it. We will also build a new tomb in the northern Syrian Ashma region." Ankara also notified the UN, the opposition Syrian Coalition and the Free Syrian Army, the minister added.
The historical site is administered by Turkey according to an internationally-signed agreement.
Earlier, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that his country launched a military operation into neighboring Syria and moved the site, which is highly revered by the Turkish people.
Chavosh Uglu noted that "Ankara has not given up its land and the Turkish flag is now flying over Ashma." He also stressed that the operation was carried out in line with Turkey's "rights based on the international law." Meanwhile, he termed as "immoral" criticism by Turkey's opposition that the country had abandoned its land, saying they had notified "all parties, including international organizations, that the land we left is Turkish."