"Turkey still thinks that areas must be created in some regions at least to make those people to feel safe," Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu told a joint press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
The Turkish foreign minister also said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "is already buried in history as a leader who declared war on its own people."
"Assad cannot have a role anymore in Syria's future," said Sinirlioglu, adding that as long as he stayed in power, Syrians will continue to suffer from chaos and confusion in the country.
- 'Turkey's role about Syrian refugees is invaluable'
The German foreign minister applauded Turkey's policy on Syrian refugees.
"We know how hard it is to host more than 2 million refugees," said Steinmeier, adding that Europe should make a call for helping Syria's and Iraq's neighbors shouldering the burden.
Steinmeier said Turkey is an important power in the region and a country whose input is vital to find an end to the conflict in Syria.
"I am sure that Turkey will be successful in its efforts for solving this problem," he said.
- In a separate press appearance Friday in Ankara with Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, Sinirlioglu said the EU wanted to cooperate with Turkey for the solution of the refugee crisis.
"We welcome this yet the first thing to do is to end the crisis in Syria. The elimination of this issue [the refugee crisis] is not possible unless the crisis and the civil war in Syria ends. There are people there that live under the oppression of a cruel regime and flee the country only to survive."
"We can keep these people in their country when we create a place for them to live under protection, a safe zone to be secure from the barrel bombs. As the international community and the EU we should work all together to make this happen."
Sinirlioglu also said Turkey hosts the highest number of refugees in the world. According to the UN, there are 1.9 million Syrian refugees registered in Turkey alone as of Aug. 25.
The UN estimates that more than 250,000 victims have died since the civil war began and 10 million have been displaced -- 6 million internally.
Asselborn said: "It is necessary to create safe zones and we see that humanitarian aids are insufficient. We need to work for ending the conflict. We need to evaluate the reasons that lead these people to leave their country."
Asselborn also said that the EU cannot close its doors on this "tragedy".
Europe is facing its biggest refugee crisis in decades, with thousands of asylum seekers from Middle East and African countries trying to reach western Europe.
During the press conference with Asselborn, the Turkish foreign minister also touched on recent PKK attacks and the security operations against the terrorist group. "What is happening in Turkey right now is that our security forces are carrying out operations to establish public order against the attacks by the PKK terror organization. Considering this [PKK terrorism] as a 'problem related to Kurds' is out of question for us."
"The issue here is that attacks are launched by a terrorist organization. Turkey is resolved to give the necessary response to these attacks. Nobody can threaten the public order in Turkey and none of our friends can criticize for what Turkey is doing to establish the public order."
Following a suicide bomb attack in July -- blamed on Daesh -- in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa that killed over 30 people, the terrorist PKK organization has renewed armed attacks especially targeting Turkish military and police forces.
Since July, more than 100 members of the security forces have been martyred and hundreds of PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq, including airstrikes.
www.aa.com.tr
18/9/15
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Related:
- Rebel rocket fire into regime-held districts of Syria's northern city of Aleppo killed at least 38 people on Tuesday, among them 14 children, a monitoring group said.
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Insurgents fired nearly 400 rockets at two Shiite villages in northwestern Syria on Friday and detonated at least seven car bombs, activists said, in a new assault on besieged government-held areas....
ReplyDeleteAn alliance of insurgent groups, including al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front, attacked Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province, an area bordering Turkey that is mostly held by insurgents after rebel advances this year, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Thousands of civilians have been living under siege in the two villages, which are still held by government forces.
Fierce clashes raged between the government forces and insurgents of the "Army of Conquest", a coalition of groups that includes Nusra Front and the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, the Observatory said. The number of casualties was not immediately clear.
Syrian state TV said forces on the government side had prevented several car bombs from reaching their targets and destroyed them, also killing rebel fighters......Reuters..........dailystar.com.lb
18/9/15
Turkey reiterates disagreement with Russia over Syria, hopes for resolution...
ReplyDeleteTurkey’s top diplomat has reiterated Ankara disagreed with Moscow over ways of handling the Syrian conflict, with a particular difference of view of the regime being run by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“Our view is that al-Assad cannot play a role in Syria reaching stability again because he is the principal one who is responsible for this matter and is on top of those who are responsible for the division in Syria. But the Russians state that this should be decided by the Syrian people,” Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu said on Sept. 18, in an interview with the state-run Anadolu Agency.
“The Syrian people have already made their decision. The rule of a country by a person who declared war against his own people is never possible. But there is no use for anybody in extending this debate. What matters is how Syria will get out of this chaotic environment,” Sinirlioğlu said.
Sinirlioğlu’s remarks followed a working visit to Sochi where he held talks with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, earlier this week.
“By keeping differences of views in parenthesis with Sergei Lavrov, we discussed things that should be done to reveal a political resolution that would pay regard to Syria’s unity, integrity and stability,” he said, expressing hope that Turkey and Russia would agree on the principles which would lay the ground for working together on the Syrian conflict.
Earlier, speaking to reporters in Sochi following his meeting with Sinirlioğlu, Lavrov said Moscow and Ankara were interested in fostering a political dialogue in Syria under the auspices of the United Nations.
“In regard to the Syrian settlement, we have a common interest in promoting the start of a meaningful, specific, results-oriented political process under the auspices of the United Nations,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency on Sept. 17.
hurriyetdailynews.com
18/9/15