Turkey presses UN over border violation

MOSCOW

Smoke rises following purported shelling in Homs. Troops shelled opposition strongholds across Syria. AP photo

Ankara increased diplomatic pressure on U.N. Security Council members, urging for further action against Syria as the crisis becomes a “border security issue” for Turkey.

Syrian forces fired shots across the Turkish border into a refugee camp April 9, wounding six people in the first case of Syrian bullets crossing into Turkish territory since the crisis began.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu skipped the Shanghai leg of an official China trip and returned to Turkey last night in order to be present in person or via teleconference when foreign ministers of the Group of Eight (G8) major economies meet in Washington today. Davutoğlu has taken several telephone calls over the past two days with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his counterparts from China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. Davutoğlu expressed concern over the recent shooting at the border, an incident Ankara described as a “border violation.” The incident is a “clear violation” of the common border between the two countries, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters in Beijing. “Obviously we will take the necessary measures.” Davutoğlu also said the issue with Syria was becoming “a problem of border security” when speaking to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and others. U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague told Davutoğlu over the phone that the U.K. was ready to provide Turkey with assistance for Syrian refugees. Lavrov said yesterday Turkey assured them it would not take a unilateral step on Syria. Davutoğlu also called Annan to discuss recent updates to the Syria situation. Meanwhile, Erdoğan is due to visit Saudi Arabia on April 12 and 13 to discuss the Syria issue.