Ankara ‘supporting’ legitimate Syrian opposition

ANKARA / AMMAN

FM Davutoğlu (R) meets with Iraqi Scholars Council head al-Ani in Ankara. AA photo

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said yesterday the exclusion of those who have killed 100,000 people from Syria’s transitional government is a principled and ethical stance.

“We support Syria’s legitimate opposition, the Syrian people, those who do not have blood on their hands, to be in the negotiation process, we won’t exclude anyone who does not have blood on their hands,” Davutoğlu said in Ankara before departing to Amman for a Friends of Syria meeting.

“A new process should start for a new Syria that represents the will of the Syrian people,” the top diplomat said, adding that the transitional government would be formed with negotiations and agreement by both sides. “Our message in Amman is clear. Eleven countries agreed on these principles in Istanbul during the last meeting. I hope we will advance on the issue of a lasting solution that does not include the ones who have blood on their hands,” he said.

In Amman, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said the meeting was a part of a political path aimed at ending the violence and bloodshed. Judeh said the U.S.-Russian proposal was a “turning point.” Earlier this month, the United States and Russia, which back opposite sides in the Syrian conflict, proposed a peace conference dubbed Geneva II to bring together both sides.

Eleven top diplomats, from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, are attending the meeting.