Turkey to take necessary steps against attacks from Syria: FM

ANKARA

The terrorist attacks from Syria have increased recently, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said, stressing that Turkey will do whatever is necessary in the face of these attacks.

“The terror threat against Turkey has started to increase. Terrorist attacks have been increasing lately. Our hands cannot be tied. We cannot wait for when they will attack us, we have to do what is necessary,” Çavuşoğlu told journalists on the plane after he visits Israel and Palestine.

Elaborating on his talks in Israel and Palestine Çavuşoğlu said, “We evaluated all dimensions of the relationships. We evaluated the steps we need to take in the future, especially the issues related to economic cooperation.”

Turkey and Israel have decided to hold an economic committee meeting and agreed to start civil aviation negotiations, he said.

“There is potential here in many areas, including energy. It seems that many companies in Israel want to do business with Turkey,” the minister said.

Çavuşoğlu said Turkey and Israel will discuss the issue of mutually appointing ambassadors during Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s visit to Turkey.

“Lapid is a politician who believes in a two-state solution. We also said that Hamas is a reality, an actor, and a political actor both in Palestine and in the Middle East process,” the minister said on the issue of Palestine.

Elaborating on the recent tension with Greece, Çavuşoğlu said it was against international law for Greece to cancel the status of the islands conditionally given within the framework of the 1923 Lausanne and 1947 Paris Peace Agreements.

Greece has been arming the islands since 1960, he said and stressed that “the sovereignty debate will begin,” if these acts continue.
“We’re very serious, we don’t bluff. If Greece does not comply with this, we will take this matter further,” Çavuşoğlu added.

On Finland and Sweden’s NATO bid, Çavuşoğlu said Ankara conveyed to the delegations of these countries a document containing Turkey’s concerns and expectations.

“We don’t want excuses; we want documents and proof. They are the ones who want to be members. If they want, they will take these steps,” Çavuşoğlu stated.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief foreign policy adviser and spokesperson, Kalın, and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal hosted the Swedish delegation headed by state secretary Oscar Stenstrom and the Finnish delegation headed by Foreign Ministry undersecretary Jukka Salovaara on May 25.

Asked about the recent reports that the Taliban and the UAE agreed on ground handling services of the Kabul airport, Çavuşoğlu said the negotiations of Turkey and Qatar with the Taliban government did not yield results.

“There was agreement on certain issues. But the Taliban’s offers to the country were not found acceptable. It was a development aid. But we did not find the Taliban’s approach correct. This is not a prestige issue, it is not an essential issue,” the minister said.