Boots on the ground in Syria ‘if the US strategy includes going after Assad,’ says Turkish PM

ISTANBUL

Davutoğlu made the remarks in an interview with CNN, CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour wrote via her Twitter account on Oct. 6. AA Photo

Ground troops can be used in the operation targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as part of a comprehensive strategy also targeting the Bashar al-Assad regime, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has reportedly said.

Davutoğlu made the remarks in an interview with CNN, CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour wrote via her Twitter account on Oct. 6.

The prime minister’s interview with Amanpour was set to be aired late Oct. 6.

“Turkish PM @Ahmet_Davutoglu tells me there can be boots on ground but only if the U.S. strategy includes going after al-Assad too,” Amanpour wrote on Twitter.

Davutoğlu also reportedly said Turkey will join the coalition against ISIL “only with a no-fly zone and safe havens inside Syria.”

According to Amanpour, Davutoğlu claimed that if al-Assad stayed in power it would only help ISIL grow.

“Turkish PM tells me they’ll try to help Kobani in a humanitarian way, but unless al-Assad is stopped, ISIL grows+more towns will fall,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, when asked about U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s recent remarks accusing Turkey of helping jihadist groups against al-Assad, Davutoğlu said Turkey “expects fairness and empathy.”

“The United States of America has a border with Mexico and there are two states on both sides,” Davutoğlu said in part of the interview, the video of which was published on CNN’s website.

“Is it easy to control the entire border? Some 1.6 million people came, you can imagine what types of risks and challenges we are facing,” the prime minister added.