Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has consecrated not to allow Syria to become another Lebanon, telling that Turkey will never let de facto structures in northern Syria lest the country sherd along sectarian lines. “If there are de facto organizations which emerged out of the chaotic situation in Syria, this would endanger the integrity of Syria,” Davutoğlu tells. Talking to a group of newspersons on Sunday night, he told that Turkey will never tolerate such a possible action for its southern neighbor.
He was referring to the emergence of a structure in northern Syria where the terrorist PPK and its associate the Democratic Union Party (PYD) have got together. “We’ll not allow any terrorist groups to expand along our borders, whether they’re al-Qaeda or the PKK. Both are considered as a threat [to the country] and all measures will be carried to block them,” Davutoğlu stated.
He explained that the PKK-PYD coalition seized on the chance given by the power vacuum in Kurdish towns and villages accompanying the withdrawal of Bashar al-Assad’s forces from Kurdish-populated areas to struggle with the opposition forces in Damascus and Aleppo. “They [PKK-PYD] are self-seekers. They joined forces with Assad in the past, and now they’re trying to fill the power vacuum there. But this could result in a opposition with Syrian confrontation groups. We don’t wish this to come about,” he stated.
The Turkish foreign minister emphasised that Turkey will take any measures it may to prevent terrorist groups from controlling in northern Syria, marking, though, that Turkey isn’t against Kurdish people living in Syria. He said that Turkey has tight cooperation with the Kurdish National Council (KNC) of Syria, recalling that Ankara aroused the infringement of rights for Kurdish people with Assad when both countries were collaborating closely in the past.
“If there has been wrongful conduct aimed against Nusayris or Christians, we’ll take a attitude against that as well,” he added up. Davutoğlu stressed that different ethnic and religious groups have lived in Syria and in the Middle East for centuries. “We never think any group of people as a threat.” He also told Turkey wouldn’t make any differentiation between Kurds and Turkmens.
He disclosed that Turkish intelligence acknowledged how many PKK militants had displaced from northern Iraq to Syria and where they are set. The issue of PKK terrorists penetrating from Iraq to Syria will become part of the discussion Davutoğlu will have with Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, when he visits there on Wed.
Commenting on the Assad regime’s hostility in Aleppo, Davutoğlu told the city is a key economic and trade hub in Syria. “If security in and around Aleppo isn’t reestablished, this would pose a threat to Turkey,” he told, telling that Turkey has taken up all the essential measures to react to a security threat from the power vacuum in Aleppo.
The Turkish secretary of state anticipated that Turkey might call for taking more forceful measures if the attack in Aleppo activates a big refugee crisis for Turkey. “We may have to discover a way to host these refugees within Syria,” he told, pointing that Turkey may be drew to arrange a buffer zone on Syrian soil to address the mounting refugee crisis. Though he refused to give a particular number of refugees that would actuate Turkey to take such action, he demanded simply, “What would come about if the refugee number arrives at 100,000?” Turkey presently hosts some 45,000 Syrian refugees in various centers.
Davutoğlu also shared with reporters the latest number of senior army defectors. In accordance with government data, 26 generals, 47 colonels and 130 other officers deserted from the Syrian army and have taken refuge in Turkey. “In recent weeks, even some Nusayris have defected to Turkey,” he told.
The Turkish minister also refused a Reuters report on a secret base in Turkey, allegedly functioned collectively with friends Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct military and communications assistance to Syrian rebels from a city near the borderline, quoting Gulf sources. “There’s been much conjecture on this [arming the rebels]. Most of what the Syrian confrontation has in their hands is from the stock the defectors brought with them when deserting the Syrian army. Other arms and munitions were obtained during attacks [on Syrian troops]. Speculative news like this ought to be disregarded,” he told, adding that there has been no more any boundary line security at Syrian borders.
