“It’s correct that we have taken precautions to protect our border. If there’s any circumstance across the border that threatens Turkish security, orders to act have been given,” Davutoğlu said late on July 2.
“Nobody should have the expectation that Turkey will enter Syria tomorrow or in the near term,” the prime minister, however, noted, as he described such assumptions as “speculative” in an interview with private Kanal 7 channel.
Speculations have mounted recently, particularly since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he would “never allow” the formation of an autonomous Kurdish state in Syrian territory. Consecutively, pro-government newspapers have trumpeted suggestions of an intervention, including the creation of a 110-by-33 kilometer “buffer zone” or “safe zone” in Syria’s Jarablus region, now controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“If anything occurred that were to threaten Turkish security, we wouldn’t wait for tomorrow, we would go right in. But it’s wrong to expect that Turkey would undertake such a unilateral intervention in the immediate term if there is no such risk,” Davutoğlu said.
Early this week, the U.S. State Department said it had no “solid evidence” that Turkey was considering a buffer zone in Syria, adding that such a move would have “serious logistical challenges.”
Officials in Ankara, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Turkey was in the end unlikely to act alone.
[hurriyetdailynews.com]
3/7/15
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Claims of complicity irk Turkey after ISIL’s attack on Kobani
US dismisses accusations against Turkey on Kobani blasts...
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The U.S. ambassador to Ankara has underlined Washington’s commitment to a future Syria that is “unified,” adding that it has been clearly conveying its expectations to Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD) with regard to practices in areas that the group has seized control of....
ReplyDeleteWhoever controls border regions in Syria should be committed to fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), U.S. Ambassador John Bass also told reporters late on July 2.
When asked about his country’s potential reaction to any unilateral move by Turkey to create a safe zone inside Syrian territory, Bass was cautious, dubbing the question “hypothetical.”
“What I will say is that both Turkey and United States have a shared concern about the presence of Daesh on Turkey’s border, in northwestern Syria, just as we have a shared concern about the presence of Daesh on the border in north central Syria,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.
Ankara and Washington are continuing to work together to address the threat posed by ISIL as part of efforts by the international coalition, the ambassador added.....................http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-committed-to-unified-syria-in-communication-with-pyd-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=84923&NewsCatID=510
3/7/15