Turkey will not watch killing of thousands in Syria from sidelines: Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks come after his meeting on Friday with the Russian president and Iranian president in Tehran to discuss a political and lasting solution to the Syrian conflict.
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference held with President of Iran Hassan Rouhani (not seen) and President of Russia Vladimir Putin (not seen) after a trilateral summit between Turkey, Iran and Russia on September 7, 2018 in Tehran, Iran.
Turkey will not watch the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people in Syria to further the regime’s interests, Turkey’s president tweeted on Friday.
If the world turns a blind eye to the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people to further the regime’s interests, we will neither watch from the sidelines nor participate in such a game.
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RT_Erdogan) September 7, 2018
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks came after his meeting on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the Iranian capital Tehran did not result in a ceasefire in Syria's Idlib.
Erdogan said Turkey has been trying to stop the bloodshed in Syria since the crisis broke out.
"Without discrimination, we rushed to the help of our Syrian brothers and sisters. Today, as in the past, we do not [want] any of our Syrian brothers or sisters to suffer — even from a nosebleed," he said.
Erdogan said the importance Turkey attaches to Friday’s trilateral summit "reflects Turkey’s care for the future of our Syrian brothers and sisters".
Turkey clearly stated during the Tehran meeting that resorting to methods that disregard civilian lives "would only play into the hands of terrorists," Erdogan said.
Erdogan said the Idlib issue must be resolved in line with the Astana process and without giving rise to pain, new tensions or more suffering.
"Upholding the principles on which we agreed in Astana is key to finding a sustainable political solution to the Syrian crisis as well."
Warning against any fait accompli under the pretext of fighting terrorism, Erdogan said resisting separatist efforts that seek to undermine Syria’s territorial integrity and the national security of neighbouring countries was crucial.
He emphasised that Turkey hosts more than 3.5 million Syrians and vowed that Turkey would continue to strive for the voluntary and safe repatriation of refugees and a lasting solution which will create a common ground for all parties to the Syrian dispute.
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