TURKEY SAYS IT RECOGNIZES SYRIAN OPPOSITION
Today's Zaman
Nov 15 2012
Turkey
Turkey has recognized Syria's newly formed opposition coalition as the
country's legitimate representative, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
revealed on Thursday.
"In Doha last week, the Syrian opposition decided to join forces for
their common objective," Davutoglu said, referring to an agreement
reached after a week-long meeting of Syria's anti-regime groups to
unite and create the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and
Revolutionary Forces, held in Qatar's capital.
"Turkey, wholeheartedly welcoming this important achievement, once
again reiterates its recognition of the Syrian National Coalition as
the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and calls upon all
our brothers in the OIC to do so," Davutoglu said in an address at
a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Djibouti.
He suggested that Turkey had declared its recognition of the new
coalition before, but did not say when the earlier statement was made.
An official clarified the point, saying Davutoglu's visit to Doha
twice in one week to join the Syrian opposition was a manifestation
of the Turkish policy.
It is not clear if the recognition of the Syrian National Coalition for
Opposition and Revolutionary Forces as the legitimate representative
of the Syrian people will affect the status of the Syrian diplomatic
representation in Turkey.
The Turkish move comes after France became the first European power to
recognize Syria's new opposition coalition as the sole representative
of its people on Tuesday. While announcing the decision, French
President Francois Hollande also said that his country would look
into arming opposition forces against President Bashar al-Assad once
they form a government.
Arab League and EU foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Tuesday
welcomed the formation of the coalition as an important step forward,
although a communiqué they released after the meeing showed they
had not reached a unanimous decision to recognize it as Syria's
sole authority.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, also said more needed to be
done to rally support inside Syria before London would recognize the
coalition as the rightful government of Syria.
The US also recognized the leadership body announced in Qatar on
Sunday as a legitimate representative, but stopped short of describing
it as the sole representative of Syria, saying the group must first
demonstrate its ability to represent Syrians inside the country.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-298261-turkey-says-it-recognizes-syrian-opposition.html
Today's Zaman
Nov 15 2012
Turkey
Turkey has recognized Syria's newly formed opposition coalition as the
country's legitimate representative, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
revealed on Thursday.
"In Doha last week, the Syrian opposition decided to join forces for
their common objective," Davutoglu said, referring to an agreement
reached after a week-long meeting of Syria's anti-regime groups to
unite and create the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and
Revolutionary Forces, held in Qatar's capital.
"Turkey, wholeheartedly welcoming this important achievement, once
again reiterates its recognition of the Syrian National Coalition as
the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and calls upon all
our brothers in the OIC to do so," Davutoglu said in an address at
a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Djibouti.
He suggested that Turkey had declared its recognition of the new
coalition before, but did not say when the earlier statement was made.
An official clarified the point, saying Davutoglu's visit to Doha
twice in one week to join the Syrian opposition was a manifestation
of the Turkish policy.
It is not clear if the recognition of the Syrian National Coalition for
Opposition and Revolutionary Forces as the legitimate representative
of the Syrian people will affect the status of the Syrian diplomatic
representation in Turkey.
The Turkish move comes after France became the first European power to
recognize Syria's new opposition coalition as the sole representative
of its people on Tuesday. While announcing the decision, French
President Francois Hollande also said that his country would look
into arming opposition forces against President Bashar al-Assad once
they form a government.
Arab League and EU foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Tuesday
welcomed the formation of the coalition as an important step forward,
although a communiqué they released after the meeing showed they
had not reached a unanimous decision to recognize it as Syria's
sole authority.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, also said more needed to be
done to rally support inside Syria before London would recognize the
coalition as the rightful government of Syria.
The US also recognized the leadership body announced in Qatar on
Sunday as a legitimate representative, but stopped short of describing
it as the sole representative of Syria, saying the group must first
demonstrate its ability to represent Syrians inside the country.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-298261-turkey-says-it-recognizes-syrian-opposition.html