Turkey rejects 'unfounded' Arab League decisions

ANKARA

Ankara “completely rejected baseless” decisions against Turkey taken at the meeting of the Arab League Foreign Ministers Council held on March 3, the Foreign Ministry has said.

“Arab League members are well aware that some Arab League countries’ insistence on maintaining their stereotypical accusations against our country to cover up their destructive activities has no counterpart to friendly and brotherly Arab peoples,” the ministry said in a written statement on March 5.

The ministry also emphasized that some league members opposed the decisions, which were “adopted as a result of imposition by various actors without conducting a transparent negotiation process between member countries.”

Turkey, having a “principled and resolute stance,” is among the countries which devote a great effort to ensure regional and global peace and stability of security, it said, adding that preserving the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political unity of the Arab countries were among Turkey’s top priorities for the region.

“We once again invite the Arab League to prioritize the peace, prosperity and well-being of the Arab people and to make a constructive contribution to the establishment of security and stability in the region instead of targeting our country with unfounded allegations,” the ministry stated.

The Arab foreign ministers involved in the meeting agreed on renewing Aboul-Gheit’s five-year term.

During the Arab League meeting, Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s Foreign Minister, announced the Arab foreign ministers’ “absolute rejection to the Turkish intervention” in the region, including the deployment of Turkish forces in several Arab countries.

He said that such policies only deepen polarisation and disagreements in the region, according to Egypt’s Daily News.