Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ANKARA: Davutoglu: Turkey Ready To Protect Exclave In Syria

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ANKARA: Davutoglu: Turkey Ready To Protect Exclave In Syria

    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
Working...
X