Turkey’s attitude on Syria is ‘bewildering’

ANKARA

Loğoğlu says Turkey should have delivered more constructive messages on Syria. AP photo

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy chair Faruk Loğoğlu slammed the government over the Friends of Syria meeting, saying Turkey is departing “from the international common position” on Syria.

“I think everybody considers Turkey’s attitude toward Syria bewildering. Turkey should have delivered more constructive and fine-tuned messages during the meeting; this is what was expected from Turkey,” Loğoğlu told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Loğoğlu said the joint communiqué of the “Friends of the Syrian People” meeting in Istanbul refused to take radical decisions for Syria such as establishing a buffer zone or arming the dissidents, which he described as the most important outcomes of the meeting.

Conditional support was given by the group to U.N. envoy Kofi Annan’s plan on Syria, Loğoğlu said. “This shows us that international society acts with common sense despite Turkey’s [efforts.] Turkey differs from the ‘Friends of the Syrian People’ in this context. Because Turkey is neither satisfied with the Annan plan, nor with the outcomes of the [Istanbul] meeting. Considering Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech at the meeting, Turkey’s expectations were not fulfilled.” Loğoğlu said Turkey’s strong language against the al-Assad administration may be the result of U.S. pressure on Turkey.
“The U.S. may be behind [Turkey’s] strong language. They are in an election period. If you examine [U.S. Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton’s discourse, you can [see] Washington is putting pressure on Ankara.

Loğoğlu also said Turkey was departing from the international common position on Syria.
“There are two options; Turkey can either be marginalized [on Syria] or be forced to take further steps, such as a [military] intervention, which would lead Turkey into bigger troubles.”