If a punishment will come to Syria, it will be done by the US: Deputy PM

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish depuy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç says Turkey was concerned that an intervention may lack a concrete “outcome,” and only deepen the chaos in Syria.

If the use of chemical weapons in Syria by the Bashar al-Assad regime is to be punished, this will be done by the United States, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has said.

Arınç emphasized the fact that Obama had chosen to go for a congressional vote, despite having the authority to decide by himself about a possible attack on Syria.

“There could be a coalition of volunteers, but this does not seem possible in the near future. Obama’s speech is important, If there will be a punishment [for chemical weapon use], it seems like this will be done by the United States,” he said Sept 2 in a press meeting following the weekly Cabinet meeting in Ankara.

“Obama said he would wait for the Congress decision, although he had the authority [to decide]. It is his decision. We may suggest that for his own domestic policy and for the different stances of democrats and republicans in the U.S., he needed this approval. Now, we need to wait for the steps forward from Sept. 9,” Arınç added.

The deputy prime minister also said Turkey was concerned that a limited intervention may lack a concrete “outcome,” and only deepen the chaos in Syria. 

Turkish government thinks  that "hit-and-run" strikes would worsen the chaotic situation in the war-torn country rather than yielding effective results, Arınç said.

If a punishment is on the table it must not only be for the use of chemical weapons, but against the “cruelty that has continued for two and a half years,” Arınç said.

He also stressed that the U.N. had been unable to act due to Russia and China’s vetoes at the U.N. Security Council, also adding that NATO did not seem ready for such an intervention either.