CHP’s Syria proposal rebuffed by Erdoğan

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu sent a letter to PM Erdoğan on Aug 27 revealing his party’s plan for solving Syrian conflict.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has rejected a proposal from the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to hold an international conference with representatives from both the Syrian opposition and the al-Assad administration in attendance, on the grounds that such an effort would amount to support for the Syrian regime, which is responsible for the humanitarian crisis in the country.

“The letter you sent us has been presented as a new and original plan, although it [is the same as] a plan that was issued after Geneva meeting. And you also ignore the fact that the Syrian regime’s persistence in committing massacres has torpedoed all kinds of proposed solutions,” Erdoğan said in his Aug. 28 letter to CHP chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

The CHP leader sent a letter to Erdoğan on Aug. 27 revealing his party’s eight-point plan for solving the Syrian conflict, including an international conference to reconcile the Syrian opposition and the Syrian government.

Erdoğan responded to Kılıçdaroğlu just one day later. He described the al-Assad administration as “a regime that has lost all legitimacy,” and said that regional and global efforts to put an end to the ongoing conflict in Syria have failed because of the regime’s stance.

“Ignoring what has happened, and attempting to portray the regime as a legitimate party to the solution process would mean lending support to the regime, which is responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Syria,” Erdoğan said, adding that the Turkish government is on the side of the Syrian people. “We have a historical heritage that has been an inspiration for oppressed nations. Our foreign policy adheres strictly to the ethical and political principles that are inherited from our history. All opposition parties, societal factions and the media need to support our policy, for the interests of Turkey and the Syrian people.”