No Islamic military force yet: Turkish Foreign Ministry

Sevil Erkuş - ANKARA

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A 34-state Saudi-led Islamic alliance does not aim to establish a military force at the moment, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said on Dec. 16. 

“Establishing a military force is beside the point yet,” he said speaking at a press conference. 

Bilgiç stated the alliance aimed for coordination in terms of military, intelligence and ideological issues in the fight against terrorism, he stated.  He underlined efforts should be coordinated in order to prevent Islam being mentioned with terror.

“It’s important that countries that struggle against terror give a common voice. We think that this meeting is an important step taken towards the right way,” he added. 

Bilgiç said the alliance should be considered as “cooperation against circles that try to associate terror with Islam.”

Turkey is ready to lend support to efforts against terror, he noted.

Turkey joined the 34-state Islamic military alliance which consists solely of Sunni states to fight terrorism amid a continuing war on jihadists in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Dec. 15 that Turkey would lend support to all initiatives against terror, noting that its participation in the military alliance against terrorism was a reflection of such resolve, reiterating his government’s resolve in fighting against global terror.

“The countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations center based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations,” the statement said, according to Saudi Arabia’s official news agency SPA.

The Saudi-led alliance does not include the kingdom’s Shiite regional rival Iran, or Syria and Iraq.
States from the Middle East, Africa and Asia will participate in the coalition.