Report: Brahimi Top Negotiator in Bishops Case

U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is negotiating the release of the two Orthodox bishops seized in northern Syria in April, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Thursday.

The daily reported that Mokhtar Lamani, Brahimi's representative in Damascus, contacted the kidnappers of the two bishops, a radical Chechen group led by Mohammed Akroff.

The negotiations are going under the auspices of Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan.

According to al-Joumhouria, the kidnappers gave Lamani tangible evidence that the two bishops are safe.

Bishops Youhanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi were kidnapped on April 23 in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo while they were on a humanitarian work.

“Brahimi confirmed to (General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas) Ibrahim that the two bishops are well,” an informed source told the newspaper.

The report said that the proof is a 6-minute audio recording with Akroff.

Brahimi informed Syrian President Bashar Assad as well of the proof.

Concerning the location of the two bishops, the source pointed out that they are still held in Syria in a dangerous and unsafe area.

The report continued that Qatar offered financial and logistic help to secure the release of the two bishops.

The kidnappers have set several conditions to release the two bishops, including the release of Turkish officers detained by the Syrian regime.

The matter remains a point of contention between Syria and Turkey as Damascus demands to make the release public while Ankara demands that it remains secret.