British MPs ask Turkey to stop flow of jihadists

ANKARA

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A British politician has floated the idea of facilitating Turkey’s stalled European Union membership bid in order to encourage the full membership candidate to put up a stronger fight against the jihadist militants.

“Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said that Turkey had a ‘vital role to play in preventing the free passage of jihadists travelling to … join Islamic State,’” the U.K. daily newspaper Guardian reported over the weekend.

“Campbell, a member of the House of Commons intelligence and security committee, said there should be a ‘full-scale diplomatic initiative’ to draw Turkey closer towards the EU, and moves to offer it a faster route toward membership in return for its full cooperation in the fight against ISIS,” The Guardian said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which recently renamed itsef the Islamic State (IS).

The U.K. daily also quoted shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander who underlined that Turkey, as a NATO ally, should play “a key role in developing a more effective regional response to Isis.”

“The priority now must be for Turkey to offer guarantees to its partners and allies that it is taking the necessary steps to uphold its responsibilities to secure key border areas that represent a vital front in the struggle to contain, disrupt and defeat ISIS,” Alexander was quoted as saying.

The United States is said to be considering air strikes aimed at eliminating individual leaders of ISIL as Turkey comes under mounting pressure to stem the flow of jihadists across its border into Syria.