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DAVUTOGLU CLARIFIES ERDOGAN'S SYRIA WAR REMARKS
Cihan News Agency, Turkey
April 3 2014
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has clarified the statements of Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said that Syria is in a state of
war with Turkey, noting that the situation in Syria is an extremely
serious matter that needs to be paid attention to by Turkey.
"Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and fled from the
country. Turkey's borders have been violated many times. ... Turkey
shot down a Syrian military jet three weeks ago. That is why this is
an extremely serious matter that needs to be followed by Turkey. This
is what our prime minister means," said Davutoğlu when asked by a
reporter on Wednesday whether Turkey was at war with Syria.
During his "balcony speech" on election night, Erdoğan stressed that
Syria is in a state of war with Turkey and criticized the leaking of
a recorded conversation concerning whether Turkey should conduct a
military operation in Syria ahead of Sunday's elections, allegedly
between Davutoğlu and certain government officials.
"How can you threaten our national security? Syria is in a state of
war with us. They are harassing our planes. They have martyred 74 of
our brothers, and the tomb of Suleyman Şah is our land. An attack on
it is an attack on 780,000 square kilometers. Can we remain silent
about such a thing?" the prime minister said in his speech.
The audio recording, which was uploaded to YouTube on March 26,
reveals a top-secret conversation allegedly between Davutoğlu, Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, National Intelligence
Organization (MİT) head Hakan Fidan and Deputy Chief of General Staff
Gen. Yaşar Guler.
Davutoğlu noted that the situation in Syria has gone beyond a civil war
and that the Syrian regime has been committing crimes against humanity.
Davutoğlu also noted that the tomb of Suleyman Şah in Syria, the
burial place of the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman
Empire, is a Turkish territory according to the 1921 Franco-Turkish
agreement. An article in the 1921 Franco-Turkish agreement lets
Turkey keep guard and hoist its flag at the tomb, described as Turkish
property, an arrangement accepted by an independent Syria.
"That place is the territory of the Turkish Republic. Our soldiers
there are protecting Turkey's territory. Any intervention, no matter
for what reason and with which way, against them would be considered
as an intervention against Turkey's territory and will be retaliated
accordingly. Turkey is decisive and capable to protect its citizens
and its territory," said Davutoğlu.
An attack or harassment of the Turkish soldiers at the fenced
compound on a strip of land jutting into the water near the village of
Karakozak, about 25 kilometers from Turkey, may pull Turkey into a war.
According to a report published in Cumhuriyet daily on Thursday, in
the event of an attack on the tomb of Suleyman Şah, NATO's "common
defense" mechanism would not come into play.
Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty indicates that an attack on any
one of the allies should be considered an attack on all of them and
also calls for a collective defense. However, former United Nations
resident representative of Turkey, Ambassador Umit Pamir, told the
daily that NATO will not intervene if the tomb is attacked. "Legally,
any attack on the tomb of Suleyman Shah, which is the only Turkish
territory outside of Turkey's borders, will not put in action NATO'S
'common defense' mechanism because Turkey had not recorded the tomb
as Turkish territory when it became a member of NATO," said Pamir.
Meanwhile, Turkey has recently said that its doors are "wide open"
to the largely Armenian residents of the Kessab region of Syria,
which is under threat from clashes between Syrian rebel forces.
Davutoğlu noted that there was no need for an extra preparations for
the Armenians fleeing to Turkey, adding that since the beginning of
the Syrian war, Turkey opened its doors to all Syrians regardless of
their ethnic, religious and sectarian differences.
Cihan News Agency, Turkey
April 3 2014
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has clarified the statements of Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said that Syria is in a state of
war with Turkey, noting that the situation in Syria is an extremely
serious matter that needs to be paid attention to by Turkey.
"Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and fled from the
country. Turkey's borders have been violated many times. ... Turkey
shot down a Syrian military jet three weeks ago. That is why this is
an extremely serious matter that needs to be followed by Turkey. This
is what our prime minister means," said Davutoğlu when asked by a
reporter on Wednesday whether Turkey was at war with Syria.
During his "balcony speech" on election night, Erdoğan stressed that
Syria is in a state of war with Turkey and criticized the leaking of
a recorded conversation concerning whether Turkey should conduct a
military operation in Syria ahead of Sunday's elections, allegedly
between Davutoğlu and certain government officials.
"How can you threaten our national security? Syria is in a state of
war with us. They are harassing our planes. They have martyred 74 of
our brothers, and the tomb of Suleyman Şah is our land. An attack on
it is an attack on 780,000 square kilometers. Can we remain silent
about such a thing?" the prime minister said in his speech.
The audio recording, which was uploaded to YouTube on March 26,
reveals a top-secret conversation allegedly between Davutoğlu, Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, National Intelligence
Organization (MİT) head Hakan Fidan and Deputy Chief of General Staff
Gen. Yaşar Guler.
Davutoğlu noted that the situation in Syria has gone beyond a civil war
and that the Syrian regime has been committing crimes against humanity.
Davutoğlu also noted that the tomb of Suleyman Şah in Syria, the
burial place of the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman
Empire, is a Turkish territory according to the 1921 Franco-Turkish
agreement. An article in the 1921 Franco-Turkish agreement lets
Turkey keep guard and hoist its flag at the tomb, described as Turkish
property, an arrangement accepted by an independent Syria.
"That place is the territory of the Turkish Republic. Our soldiers
there are protecting Turkey's territory. Any intervention, no matter
for what reason and with which way, against them would be considered
as an intervention against Turkey's territory and will be retaliated
accordingly. Turkey is decisive and capable to protect its citizens
and its territory," said Davutoğlu.
An attack or harassment of the Turkish soldiers at the fenced
compound on a strip of land jutting into the water near the village of
Karakozak, about 25 kilometers from Turkey, may pull Turkey into a war.
According to a report published in Cumhuriyet daily on Thursday, in
the event of an attack on the tomb of Suleyman Şah, NATO's "common
defense" mechanism would not come into play.
Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty indicates that an attack on any
one of the allies should be considered an attack on all of them and
also calls for a collective defense. However, former United Nations
resident representative of Turkey, Ambassador Umit Pamir, told the
daily that NATO will not intervene if the tomb is attacked. "Legally,
any attack on the tomb of Suleyman Shah, which is the only Turkish
territory outside of Turkey's borders, will not put in action NATO'S
'common defense' mechanism because Turkey had not recorded the tomb
as Turkish territory when it became a member of NATO," said Pamir.
Meanwhile, Turkey has recently said that its doors are "wide open"
to the largely Armenian residents of the Kessab region of Syria,
which is under threat from clashes between Syrian rebel forces.
Davutoğlu noted that there was no need for an extra preparations for
the Armenians fleeing to Turkey, adding that since the beginning of
the Syrian war, Turkey opened its doors to all Syrians regardless of
their ethnic, religious and sectarian differences.