But Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal — citing information from the Turkish navy — said the ship had docked Thursday at the Syrian port of Tartus, which Russian warships use as a resupply stop.

The St. Vincent and Grenadines-flagged ship, the Chariot, had apparently turned off its tracking device and the information could not be independently verified.

The vessel, owned by St. Petersburg-based Westberg Ltd, had initially dropped anchor off the southern Cypriot port of Limassol due to high seas, drawing the attention of local officials who boarded to examine its cargo.

They could not open and inspect four containers in the hold because of “the confined space” they were stored in, the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, but officials nevertheless determined they were holding a “dangerous cargo.”

Cyprus state radio said the vessel was carrying “tens of tons of munitions” while Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted a Westberg spokesman as saying that the Chariot was ferrying cargo owned by Russia’s state arms trader Rosoboronexport.

The spokesman said the cargo was listed as “dangerous” in the ship’s manifest, but no further details were available.

Turkey, which has become Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s strongest critic, has imposed a trade and arms embargo on its southern neighbor.

In between, the prime minister called in the journalists who cover him for an impromptu chat and imparted some information about his health.

“Thank God, it is getting better every day,” he said. “God willing, our (work) intensity will resume in mid-February or in the beginning of March.”

On Nov. 26, Erdogan, 57, underwent laparoscopic surgery to remove what a physician later said were non-cancerous intestinal polyps, disappearing from public life for weeks. The surgery was kept secret from the public and his aides remained tightlipped for days.

It took the normally tireless prime minister three weeks to return to work and even then, details of his schedule were scant, leaving many Turks wondering about his health.

The potential implications of any health issue are big since Erdogan, 57, has loomed large over this mostly Muslim NATO ally. Under his leadership in the past decade, Turkey has boosted economic growth, raised its international profile and has become a source of inspiration for some regional activists who have helped oust autocratic leaders through popular uprisings.

Erdogan, who spearheads Turkey’s blend of religious piety and democratic politics, leads with a tight grip and there are questions about whether his party would weaken without him, and whether the country would pursue the same assertive, often brash foreign policy.

Erdogan has set ambitious longterm goals for when Turkey celebrates the centenary of the republic in 2023, including making the country an influential regional actor, one of the top 10 economies of the world and a member of the European Union. The EU bid, however, is stalled for now.

President Abdullah Gul, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Ali Babacan, the deputy prime minister who is credited for the economic boom, are respected figures, but lack the depth of Erdogan’s popular appeal.

Journalists knew something was up on Nov. 28 when nothing showed on Erdogan’s daily schedule.

“There had been one or two occasions when the prime minister had nothing scheduled for the weekend and spent time with his grandchildren,” said journalist Ercan Gurses, who covers Erdogan for NTV television. “But we got suspicious that something was wrong when there was nothing on his agenda for a Monday also — not a single meeting, not one opening.”

A brief statement two days after Erdogan disappeared stated that he had undergone “successful” abdominal surgery on his digestive system. But that only fueled speculation that he had cancer, prompting hospital officials to make a more detailed statement a week later.

Dr. Mehmet Fuzun, dean of a university hospital that operated on Erdogan told the Dogan news agency that the prime minister had a three-hour surgery to remove polyps in his intestine and that a biopsy revealed that they were not cancerous. Fuzun said between 20 and 25 centimeters (8 to 10 inches) of his intestines were removed.

“If we hadn’t removed them, perhaps in three or five years time, they could have turned into a serious illness,” the agency quoted him as saying.

On Tuesday, Erdogan told journalists that he liked to spend weekends in Istanbul, rather than in the capital Ankara, because “that’s where my doctors are.” A close aide told The Associated Press that Erdogan was already working “until 11 pm” and would resume foreign visits in March. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.

In one of his first appearances after returning to work, Erdogan admitted that he had lost four kilograms (about 9 pounds) after the surgery.

In 2006, Erdogan was admitted to the hospital after fainting in his car and being locked inside the armored vehicle when its automatic locking system was accidentally activated by panicked bodyguards. Doctors said at the time his conditions was caused by a combination of intense work and fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Erdogan is taking up his robust schedule in the same week Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has resumed his weekly television and radio program after a hiatus of seven months due to cancer treatment. The 57-year-old president had a tumor removed from his pelvic region in June and underwent four rounds of chemotherapy from July to September in both Cuba and Venezuela. He has said he is now cancer-free, although he hasn’t revealed what type of cancer he had.

This week, doctors announced that Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez, who had surgery for thyroid cancer, didn’t have cancer after all.

In between, the prime minister called in the journalists who cover him for an impromptu chat and imparted some information about his health.

“Thank God, it is getting better every day,” he said. “God willing, our (work) intensity will resume in mid-February or in the beginning of March.”

On Nov. 26, Erdogan, 57, underwent laparoscopic surgery to remove what a physician later said were non-cancerous intestinal polyps, disappearing from public life for weeks. The surgery was kept secret from the public and his aides remained tightlipped for days.

It took the normally tireless prime minister three weeks to return to work and even then, details of his schedule were scant, leaving many Turks wondering about his health.

The potential implications of any health issue are big since Erdogan, 57, has loomed large over this mostly Muslim NATO ally. Under his leadership in the past decade, Turkey has boosted economic growth, raised its international profile and has become a source of inspiration for some regional activists who have helped oust autocratic leaders through popular uprisings.

Erdogan, who spearheads Turkey’s blend of religious piety and democratic politics, leads with a tight grip and there are questions about whether his party would weaken without him, and whether the country would pursue the same assertive, often brash foreign policy.

Erdogan has set ambitious longterm goals for when Turkey celebrates the centenary of the republic in 2023, including making the country an influential regional actor, one of the top 10 economies of the world and a member of the European Union. The EU bid, however, is stalled for now.

President Abdullah Gul, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Ali Babacan, the deputy prime minister who is credited for the economic boom, are respected figures, but lack the depth of Erdogan’s popular appeal.

Journalists knew something was up on Nov. 28 when nothing showed on Erdogan’s daily schedule.

“There had been one or two occasions when the prime minister had nothing scheduled for the weekend and spent time with his grandchildren,” said journalist Ercan Gurses, who covers Erdogan for NTV television. “But we got suspicious that something was wrong when there was nothing on his agenda for a Monday also — not a single meeting, not one opening.”

A brief statement two days after Erdogan disappeared stated that he had undergone “successful” abdominal surgery on his digestive system. But that only fueled speculation that he had cancer, prompting hospital officials to make a more detailed statement a week later.

Dr. Mehmet Fuzun, dean of a university hospital that operated on Erdogan told the Dogan news agency that the prime minister had a three-hour surgery to remove polyps in his intestine and that a biopsy revealed that they were not cancerous. Fuzun said between 20 and 25 centimeters (8 to 10 inches) of his intestines were removed.

“If we hadn’t removed them, perhaps in three or five years time, they could have turned into a serious illness,” the agency quoted him as saying.

On Tuesday, Erdogan told journalists that he liked to spend weekends in Istanbul, rather than in the capital Ankara, because “that’s where my doctors are.” A close aide told The Associated Press that Erdogan was already working “until 11 pm” and would resume foreign visits in March. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.

In one of his first appearances after returning to work, Erdogan admitted that he had lost four kilograms (about 9 pounds) after the surgery.

In 2006, Erdogan was admitted to the hospital after fainting in his car and being locked inside the armored vehicle when its automatic locking system was accidentally activated by panicked bodyguards. Doctors said at the time his conditions was caused by a combination of intense work and fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Erdogan is taking up his robust schedule in the same week Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has resumed his weekly television and radio program after a hiatus of seven months due to cancer treatment. The 57-year-old president had a tumor removed from his pelvic region in June and underwent four rounds of chemotherapy from July to September in both Cuba and Venezuela. He has said he is now cancer-free, although he hasn’t revealed what type of cancer he had.

This week, doctors announced that Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez, who had surgery for thyroid cancer, didn’t have cancer after all.

Some of the suspects already charged in the case, including senior generals and admirals, have said they acted in a chain of command. Basbug, who retired in August 2010, led the military at the time.

The jailing of a former military chief — unimaginable a few years back — comes as the government, which has won three successive elections, has sharply reduced the political clout of the military. Military leaders have staged three coups and forced an Islamist prime minister to quit in 1997.

Basbug’s lawyer, Ilkay Sezer said his client has denied accusations during questioning. NTV television said the former general told court officials the charges were “tragicomical.”

“If I am being accused of bringing down the government with a couple of press statements and one or two Internet stories, this is very bitter,” the Hurriyet newspaper quoted Basbug as saying, citing court papers.

“If I had such bad intentions, as the commander of a 700,000-strong force, there would have been other ways of doing it.”

Basbug told journalists before being taken to prison: “The 26th Chief of Military Staff of the Turkish Republic is being accused of forming and leading a terror organization. I leave it up to the great Turkish people to decide.”

The alleged conspiracy was first reported by a Turkish newspaper in 2009, which printed a photocopy of an alleged plan to damage the reputation of the government by portraying it as corrupt. Investigations into the reported conspiracy were inconclusive because the original document, allegedly signed by a navy colonel, could not be found. The probe was revived last year after an unidentified military officer allegedly sent the original document to Istanbul’s chief prosecutor.

Hundreds of people, including civilians, retired generals and active-duty officers, are already on trial accused of terrorism charges for alleged involvement in separate plots that prosecutors say were aimed at destabilizing Turkey and bringing the government down. The military says 58 serving generals or admirals are in jail.

Erdogan’s opponents see the trials as a government effort to intimidate them through the courts while the long imprisonments without verdicts and alleged irregularities in the handling of evidence have cast doubts over the legal process.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the pro-secular opposition party, criticized the arrest saying courts prosecuting the anti-government plots were “not distributing justice” but “approving decisions taken by the political authorities.”

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said he could not comment on a legal process but said he hoped the trial would be “fair and quick.”

Last year, the nation’s top four military commanders, including the chief of staff that succeeded Basbug, resigned in protest against the arrests and prosecutions of military officers.

Some of the suspects already charged in the case, including senior generals and admirals, have said they acted in a chain of command. Basbug, who retired in August 2010, led the military at the time.

The jailing of a former military chief — unimaginable a few years back — comes as the government, which has won three successive elections, has sharply reduced the political clout of the military. Military leaders have staged three coups and forced an Islamist prime minister to quit in 1997.

Lawyer Ilkay Sezer said Basbug denied accusations during questioning. NTV television said the former general told court officials the charges were “tragicomical.”

Basbug himself sounded bewildered by the charges.

“The 26th Chief of Military Staff of the Turkish Republic is being accused of forming and leading a terror organization,” the state-run Anatolia news agency quoted Basbug as telling journalists before being taken to prison. “I leave it up to the great Turkish people to decide.”

The alleged conspiracy was first reported by a Turkish newspaper in 2009, which printed a photocopy of an alleged plan to damage the reputation of the government by portraying it as corrupt. Investigations into the reported conspiracy were inconclusive because the original document, allegedly signed by a navy colonel, could not be found. The probe was revived last year after an unidentified military officer allegedly sent the original document to Istanbul’s chief prosecutor.

Hundreds of people, including civilians, retired generals and active-duty officers, are already on trial accused of terrorism charges for alleged involvement in separate plots that prosecutors say were aimed at destabilizing Turkey and bringing the government down. The military says 58 serving generals or admirals are in jail.

Erdogan’s opponents see the trials as a government effort to intimidate them through the courts while the long imprisonments without verdicts and alleged irregularities in the handling of evidence have cast doubts over the legal process.

Last year, the nation’s top four military commanders, including the chief of staff that succeeded Basbug, resigned in protest against the arrests and prosecutions of military officers.