Turkey urges western allies for tougher action agains Syria

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has urged Turkey's Western allies to enact action that will not remain cosmetic but will rather force Damascus to the bargaining table for a peace conference in Geneva. AA photo

Washington has signaled plans for a small-scale punitive strike on Syria in response to its alleged use of chemical weapons, but Turkey has urged its Western allies to enact action that will not remain cosmetic but hard enough that will rather force Damascus for political solution.

Speaking Aug. 28 to his British and American counterparts, William Hague and John Kerry, respectively, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu cautioned them that any action against the Syrian regime should not be conducted just to show that the international community is avoiding “standing still against” the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

The action should rather pressure the Syrian administration to avoid military solutions in an effort to push it toward accepting a political solution, Davutoğlu told them.  

The methods of action and Turkey’s possible role have yet to be discussed with the Western allies, according to Turkish diplomatic sources. The White House has already ruled out any military effort to oust al-Assad.

“The options that we are considering are not about regime change,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said Aug. 27. “They are about responding to a clear violation of an international standard that prohibits the use of chemical weapons.”

Meanwhile, President Abdullah Gül held separate meetings yesterday with Davutoğlu, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Out of the three meetings, only the one with Erdoğan was a regularly held meeting.

Erdoğan was to hold an “external security” meeting at the Prime Ministry Official Residence yesterday after the Daily News went to press.