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Turkey would join coalition against Syria, says FM

Davutoglu says Ankara will join any international coalition even if wider consensus isn't reached at UN's Security Council; Hague reiterates sentiment

Turkey would join any international coalition against Syria even if a wider consensus on action cannot be reached at the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying on Monday.

 

"We always prioritize acting together with the international community, with United Nations decisions. If such a decision doesn't emerge from the UN Security Council, other alternatives ... would come onto the agenda," Davutoglu told the Milliyet daily.

 

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"Currently 36-37 countries are discussing these alternatives. If a coalition is formed against Syria in this process, Turkey would take its place in this coalition."

 

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said reiterated the sentiment saying it would be possible to respond to chemical weapons use in Syria without the unanimous backing of the United Nations Security Council.

 

"Is it possible to respond to chemical weapons without complete unity on the UN Security Council? I would argue yes it is otherwise it might be impossible to respond to such outrages, such crimes, and I don't think that's an acceptable situation," Hague said on BBC radio.

 

Turkey has emerged as one of Syrian President Bashar Assad's most vocal critics during the two-and-a-half year conflict, sheltering half a million refugees and allowing the opposition to organize on its soil.

 

The NATO member has criticized world powers for failing to take a decisive stance. The UN Security Council has been hamstrung by the opposition of veto-wielding members, Russia and China, to any firm action.

 

"From the outset, Turkey has argued that the international community must not stand by in the face of the Assad regime's massacres," Davutoglu said.

 

"Leaving unpunished leaders and regimes which resort to such practices undermines the deterrence of the international community. Those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity must definitely be punished."

 

According to Iranian news agency Fars, senior member of Iranian Parliament, Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, dismissed the possibility of the United Stated attacking in Syria and clarified: "Syria will not be attacked militarily, but it will happen, the Zionist regime will be the first victim."

 

 

 

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פרסום ראשון: 08.26.13, 10:58
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