Turkey is not mulling military intervention in Syria, Deputy PM Arınç says

ANKARA

Turkey is not mulling military intervention in Syria, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told Ankara bureau chiefs late July 23. DHA photo

A military intervention in Syria would further complicate the situation in the war-torn country, a senior Turkish government official has said, although armed Kurdish groups’ attempts to create a de facto situation in northern Syria is a major concern for Turkey.

“We have already announced that we will not allow any fait accompli in Syria. But we are of the opinion that any [military] intervention would make the situation in Syria more negative,” Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told Ankara bureau chiefs late yesterday at an iftar dinner. The statement came at a moment when the Turkish army was stepping up its military measures along the Syrian border in the face of escalating tension.

Known as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) affiliate in Syria, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) has recently increased its influence in the northern part of the country and taken control of several towns along the border after clashes with the radical Islamist al-Nusra Front. There are concerns that the PYD is planning to declare its autonomy in northern Syria, taking advantage of the power vacuum in the country.

Turkey said it won’t tolerate a fait accompli in Syria but Arınç’s statement clearly showed that it was not planning to cross the border to intervene against the PYD.

Arınç accused Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad of using the PYD and Iran-backed Hezbollah in his fight with the Syrian opposition and said the PYD was trying to profit from the ongoing turmoil in the country. The deputy prime minister said Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government and prominent Kurdish leader, also opposed the PYD’s acts.