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DAVUTOGLU: TURKEY READY TO PROTECT EXCLAVE IN SYRIA
World Bulletin, Turkey
March 27 2014
Suleiman Shah tomb in Aleppo
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that allegations that
Turkey is providing support to opposition forces in Kesab by letting
them use its territory or through other means during the country's
conflict are "totally unfounded and untrue."
World Bulletin / News Desk
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the country's armed
forces are ready for every possibility regarding Turkish territory in
Syria which is home to the symbolically-important Suleyman Shah Tomb.
Speaking on a private Turkish television channel on Wednesday,
Davutoglu said: "Our troops are ready for every possibility in
the area; it does not matter even if a bad scenario happens in on
election day."
"We, as a government, are responsible for our country's freedom."
Protected by Turkish troops, the Suleyman Shah Tomb -- Turkey's only
exclave -- and the surrounding area are located in Aleppo's Manbij
district, approximately 30 km from the Turkish border.
Turkey's foreign minister said it was not right for the media to
highlight the tomb issue every day as it made Turkish troops stationed
there concerned.
Radical Islamist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) -- which is locked in intense fighting with anti-government
Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels around the tomb -- has allegedly demanded
that Turkish troops leave the region.
On the downing of a Syrian warplane by Turkish jets on Sunday,
Davutoglu said there is nothing more dangerous than not showing
deterrence in time. He also mentioned the jet had been bombing the
Turkmen-populated Bayir-Bucak region of Latakia in Syria.
Davutoglu also slammed the media for acting against Turkey's interests
about the situation, saying: "Nobody is criticizing his troops before
the international community except these media."
The foreign minister said Turkey changed the rules of engagement
after a Syrian jet downed Turkish F-16 type plane in 2012 and acted
accordingly.
"Turkey cannot show any weakness about it, the price would be huge,"
he said.
Syrian opposition forces are occupying more towns in the Turkmen
Bayir-Bucak region as clashes with the regime of President Bashar
al-Assad intensify.
For almost a week, conflict in the town of Kesab has raged between
the Syrian regime and the opposition. However, the town has remained
calm since the opposition took over and raised flags at the local
police stations.
TURKEY NOT BACKING OPPOSITION IN KASAB
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that allegations that
Turkey is providing support to opposition forces in Kesab by letting
them use its territory or through other means during the country's
conflict are "totally unfounded and untrue."
"We consider the efforts of such circles and the developments in the
Kesab region and the painful incidents of the past as a confrontational
political propaganda attempt and particularly condemn it," said a
statement from the ministry.
Remarking that Turkey is one of the most affected countries of Syria's
three-year civil war, the ministry said that the country is continuing
to eliminate threats against its national security "as was the case
on 23 March," when the Turkish armed forces downed a Syrian military
jet for violating its airspace.
Turkey has also been sheltering around 800,000 Syrians and has now
"in accordance with its humanitarian and conscientious responsibility
notified the relevant U.N. bodies that Syrian Armenians residing in
Kesep region could be admitted into Turkey too where they will be
guaranteed protection," the ministry concluded in its statement.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/turkey/132119/davutoglu-turkey-ready-to-protect-exclave-in-syria
From: A. Papazian
World Bulletin, Turkey
March 27 2014
Suleiman Shah tomb in Aleppo
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that allegations that
Turkey is providing support to opposition forces in Kesab by letting
them use its territory or through other means during the country's
conflict are "totally unfounded and untrue."
World Bulletin / News Desk
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the country's armed
forces are ready for every possibility regarding Turkish territory in
Syria which is home to the symbolically-important Suleyman Shah Tomb.
Speaking on a private Turkish television channel on Wednesday,
Davutoglu said: "Our troops are ready for every possibility in
the area; it does not matter even if a bad scenario happens in on
election day."
"We, as a government, are responsible for our country's freedom."
Protected by Turkish troops, the Suleyman Shah Tomb -- Turkey's only
exclave -- and the surrounding area are located in Aleppo's Manbij
district, approximately 30 km from the Turkish border.
Turkey's foreign minister said it was not right for the media to
highlight the tomb issue every day as it made Turkish troops stationed
there concerned.
Radical Islamist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) -- which is locked in intense fighting with anti-government
Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels around the tomb -- has allegedly demanded
that Turkish troops leave the region.
On the downing of a Syrian warplane by Turkish jets on Sunday,
Davutoglu said there is nothing more dangerous than not showing
deterrence in time. He also mentioned the jet had been bombing the
Turkmen-populated Bayir-Bucak region of Latakia in Syria.
Davutoglu also slammed the media for acting against Turkey's interests
about the situation, saying: "Nobody is criticizing his troops before
the international community except these media."
The foreign minister said Turkey changed the rules of engagement
after a Syrian jet downed Turkish F-16 type plane in 2012 and acted
accordingly.
"Turkey cannot show any weakness about it, the price would be huge,"
he said.
Syrian opposition forces are occupying more towns in the Turkmen
Bayir-Bucak region as clashes with the regime of President Bashar
al-Assad intensify.
For almost a week, conflict in the town of Kesab has raged between
the Syrian regime and the opposition. However, the town has remained
calm since the opposition took over and raised flags at the local
police stations.
TURKEY NOT BACKING OPPOSITION IN KASAB
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that allegations that
Turkey is providing support to opposition forces in Kesab by letting
them use its territory or through other means during the country's
conflict are "totally unfounded and untrue."
"We consider the efforts of such circles and the developments in the
Kesab region and the painful incidents of the past as a confrontational
political propaganda attempt and particularly condemn it," said a
statement from the ministry.
Remarking that Turkey is one of the most affected countries of Syria's
three-year civil war, the ministry said that the country is continuing
to eliminate threats against its national security "as was the case
on 23 March," when the Turkish armed forces downed a Syrian military
jet for violating its airspace.
Turkey has also been sheltering around 800,000 Syrians and has now
"in accordance with its humanitarian and conscientious responsibility
notified the relevant U.N. bodies that Syrian Armenians residing in
Kesep region could be admitted into Turkey too where they will be
guaranteed protection," the ministry concluded in its statement.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/turkey/132119/davutoglu-turkey-ready-to-protect-exclave-in-syria
From: A. Papazian