Turkey to share test results of suspected Syrian victims of chemical weapons

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

A picture taken on April 26 shows smoke rising after shelling in Houla in Syria's Homs province. Ankara anounced that it will share with the public and with international organizations the results of blood tests on suspected victims of injured Syrians being treated in Turkey. AFP photo

Ankara will share with the public and with international organizations the results of blood tests on suspected victims of injured Syrians being treated in Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said May 9, adding that the tests have still yet to be finalized.

From now on, Turkey will hold standardized blood tests for every injured Syrian fleeing from the war-torn country across the Turkish border in order to check for the use of chemical weapons, Davutoğlu said yesterday, speaking at a joint press conference with Burkinabé Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation Minister Djibrill Yipéné Bassolé.

“Whoever uses chemical weapons, it’s a crime against humanity,” Davutoğlu noted, adding that Turkey was worried about stockpiles of those weapons being in the hands of the Syrian regime.

Commenting on the recent U.S.-Russia rapprochement to work on a transitional government determined by the Syrian government and the opposition, Davutoğlu said Turkey was ready to contribute to any initiative to end the violence in its neighbor, adding that Turkish officials would participate in any international conference with this aim. 

He reiterated Turkey’s view that the Syrian opposition could hold dialogue with those members of the Syrian regime “who do not carry the blood of Syrians.”