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Daily Sabah, Turkey
March 27 2015
Turkish Foreign Minister: No military aid for Saudi intervention in Yemen
ANADOLU AGENCY
The Turkish foreign minister has ruled out military support for a
Saudi Arabian-backed operation to halt Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Mevlüt ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said the situation in Yemen had to be stopped
immediately and that there was "no need for a sectarian war."
During a televised interview on Friday, ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said: "We said we
can give every kind of support, including intelligence, but not
military support."
ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu discussed President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an's remarks about
Yemen where he said that Turkey may consider providing "logistical
support" to the Saudi military operation.
"Houthis are a small group. With foreign support, they took over
Yemen," ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said, adding: "The most concrete solution is a
political one. There is no need for a sectarian war. There is no need
for Iran to face off against Arab countries."
ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu also said Turkey will consult with Gulf countries about what
kind of support it could offer.
In an interview with French network FRANCE 24 on Thursday, ErdoÄ?an
said that Ankara may consider providing "logistical support" to the
mission.
"We support Saudi Arabia's intervention," Erdogan told FRANCE 24.
"Turkey may consider providing logistical support based on the
evolution of the situation," he added.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of Arab countries, all of
them U.S. allies, to launch airstrikes against Houthi positions since
late Wednesday.
Riyadh said the strikes were in response to calls by Yemeni President
Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention to "save the people
from the Houthi militias."
Fractious Yemen has been in turmoil since last September, when the
Shiite militants overran the capital Sanaa, from which they have
sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.
Some Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi
insurgency which forced Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to
flee the country.
Media reports in Turkey on Thursday said that Turkish Airlines had
suspended flights to Yemen.
Delayed Syrian train-and-equip program
Speaking about the belated train-and-equip program for Syrian fighters
opposed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said the U.S. and
Turkey were deciding everything together.
When asked about why the program has not started yet, Cavusoglu
answered: "Because of the geographical distance of the U.S. their
preparations for the train-and-equip program came late."
On February 20, ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said that around 2,000 Syrian fighters would
take part in a train-and-equip program in Turkey to fight Daesh and
the Assad regime, starting in early March. The program has yet to
start.
Turkey expects no 'attitude change' from US on Armenia
When asked about any potential change in attitude from the U.S. on the
100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian incidents in the Ottoman
Empire, ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu answered: "We expect no attitude change from the
U.S. Otherwise, our relations would be damaged immensely. But we know
the U.S. government has the same sensibility."
During last year's commemorations, U.S. President Barack Obama used
the term "Meds Yeghern" - meaning "Great Catastrophe" in the Armenian
language - to characterize the incidents of 1915.
"I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and
my view has not changed," said Obama.
The debate on "genocide" and the differing opinions between the
present-day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.
During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire approved a deportation
law for Armenians, amid their uprising with the help of the invading
Russian army. As a result, an unknown number of people died in civil
strife.
Turkey's official position on the "genocide" allegations is that it
acknowledges that past experiences were a great tragedy and that both
parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.
Turkey agrees that there were Armenian casualties during World War I,
but that it is impossible to define these incidents as "genocide."
http://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2015/03/27/turkish-foreign-minister-no-military-aid-for-saudi-intervention-in-yemen
From: Baghdasarian
March 27 2015
Turkish Foreign Minister: No military aid for Saudi intervention in Yemen
ANADOLU AGENCY
The Turkish foreign minister has ruled out military support for a
Saudi Arabian-backed operation to halt Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Mevlüt ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said the situation in Yemen had to be stopped
immediately and that there was "no need for a sectarian war."
During a televised interview on Friday, ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said: "We said we
can give every kind of support, including intelligence, but not
military support."
ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu discussed President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an's remarks about
Yemen where he said that Turkey may consider providing "logistical
support" to the Saudi military operation.
"Houthis are a small group. With foreign support, they took over
Yemen," ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said, adding: "The most concrete solution is a
political one. There is no need for a sectarian war. There is no need
for Iran to face off against Arab countries."
ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu also said Turkey will consult with Gulf countries about what
kind of support it could offer.
In an interview with French network FRANCE 24 on Thursday, ErdoÄ?an
said that Ankara may consider providing "logistical support" to the
mission.
"We support Saudi Arabia's intervention," Erdogan told FRANCE 24.
"Turkey may consider providing logistical support based on the
evolution of the situation," he added.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of Arab countries, all of
them U.S. allies, to launch airstrikes against Houthi positions since
late Wednesday.
Riyadh said the strikes were in response to calls by Yemeni President
Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention to "save the people
from the Houthi militias."
Fractious Yemen has been in turmoil since last September, when the
Shiite militants overran the capital Sanaa, from which they have
sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.
Some Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi
insurgency which forced Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to
flee the country.
Media reports in Turkey on Thursday said that Turkish Airlines had
suspended flights to Yemen.
Delayed Syrian train-and-equip program
Speaking about the belated train-and-equip program for Syrian fighters
opposed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said the U.S. and
Turkey were deciding everything together.
When asked about why the program has not started yet, Cavusoglu
answered: "Because of the geographical distance of the U.S. their
preparations for the train-and-equip program came late."
On February 20, ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said that around 2,000 Syrian fighters would
take part in a train-and-equip program in Turkey to fight Daesh and
the Assad regime, starting in early March. The program has yet to
start.
Turkey expects no 'attitude change' from US on Armenia
When asked about any potential change in attitude from the U.S. on the
100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian incidents in the Ottoman
Empire, ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu answered: "We expect no attitude change from the
U.S. Otherwise, our relations would be damaged immensely. But we know
the U.S. government has the same sensibility."
During last year's commemorations, U.S. President Barack Obama used
the term "Meds Yeghern" - meaning "Great Catastrophe" in the Armenian
language - to characterize the incidents of 1915.
"I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and
my view has not changed," said Obama.
The debate on "genocide" and the differing opinions between the
present-day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.
During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire approved a deportation
law for Armenians, amid their uprising with the help of the invading
Russian army. As a result, an unknown number of people died in civil
strife.
Turkey's official position on the "genocide" allegations is that it
acknowledges that past experiences were a great tragedy and that both
parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.
Turkey agrees that there were Armenian casualties during World War I,
but that it is impossible to define these incidents as "genocide."
http://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2015/03/27/turkish-foreign-minister-no-military-aid-for-saudi-intervention-in-yemen
From: Baghdasarian