Envoy complains of Turkey’s Syria stance

NEW YORK

Syrian forces carry a coffin of who SANA said was killed in violence on April 12.

Syria’s U.N. Ambassador has complained about Turkey’s stance on the conflict in Syria, and also criticized Ankara’s comments on recent border violations.

In a press conference on April 12 following a closed U.N. Security Council session, Bashar al-Jaafari blamed the Turkish government’s policies on Syria for “becoming a part of the problem, as it is facilitating the infiltration of gunmen through the borders to Syria and hosts armed groups on its ground.” He also said this policy was a violation of Kofi Annan’s peace plan.

“Turkey has to reconsider its stances before asking the NATO to interfere, because the region needs stability and good neighborhood relations,” said al-Jaafari.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters on April 11 that “NATO has responsibilities to protect the Turkish border according to Article 5,” referring to the article of NATO’s constitution stating that an attack against one NATO member should be considered an attack against all members.

Erdoğan’s remarks came after Syrian forces fired shots across the Turkish border into a refugee camp April 9, wounding six people, including two Turks.

Speaking of this incident, al-Jaafari claimed that “an armed group entered Syria from Turkey and opened fire at a police center in the Syrian lands … the Syrian police responded to the fire ... the attackers withdrew, but they reopened fire at the police center, which also responded and this led to the causalities.”

He also criticized the “Friends of the Syrian People” meeting that took place in Istanbul on April 1 for “seeking to overthrow the Syrian state,” claiming that “Syria is a victim of diplomatic, political and media terrorism.”

Al-Jaafari said Syria had “a great commitment to cooperation with international envoy Kofi Annan, blaming the rebels for breaking the cease-fire. He stressed that eight violations had taken place this morning by “armed terrorist groups,” adding that “spreading observers should take place once the violence ends.”