The Russian intelligence had warned Ankara about the possible coup in Turkey, Iranian news agency Fars reported with reference to unnamed Arab media, which, in their turn site Turkish diplomatic sources.
According to unnamed diplomats, representatives of the Russian army intercepted encoded radio messages and extremely important information that the military were exchanging. The intercepted information indicated preparations to the military coup in Turkey.
Among the intercepted data, there was information about several helicopters heading to the hotel in the resort city of Marmaris, where Turkish President Erdogan was staying before the revolution occurred. Earlier, Al Jazeera reported that Erdogan had managed to leave the hotel half an hour before the coupists came there to either arrest or kill the Turkish leader.
It was not said, however, where exactly and how the Russian intelligence managed to intercept the information about the plotted coup. The diplomats only said that the intelligence unit of the Russian army was deployed at the Russian air base in Syria’s Hmeymim. According to the sources, the Russian air base in Syria is equipped with state-of-the-art data interception equipment.
It is difficult to say, to which extent the information is reliable. However, as reported by Turkish magazine Nokta, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) learned about the imminent coup several hours before it started.
Turkish special services obtained the information about the coup the day before the incident, on July 15, at 4:00 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., MIT deputy chief Hakan Fidan conveyed the information to deputy commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, Yashar Guler. At 6:30 p.m., the head of Turkey’s General Staff, Hulusi Akar, ordered to close the sky above Turkey for all flights, including military ones and prohibit the movement of troops and armored vehicles.
Originally, the rebels planned to start the coup on Saturday, July 16, at 3:00 a.m. However, they had to start a few hours earlier because their plans became known to intelligence.