Turkey urges intl punitive action against Syria

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-8-31 8:06:39

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged Friday a US-led decision for punitive action against the Syrian government over the alleged use of chemical weapons.

"The most right message (against the Syrian administration) could only be given with the most right reaction with best timing, " Davutoglu told reporters here.

On Thursday, the British Parliament refused to authorize its government to take part in a potential military action against Syria, while Germany also signaled that it would not be part of such a military intervention.

Commenting on the British and German stances, Davutoglu said " These kinds of discussion and emergence of different voices are natural in democratic countries."

However, he said there would be a cost of absence of any penalty against Bashar al-Assad's administration over an alleged poison gas attack, which, according to activists, killed almost 1, 300 people near Damascus earlier this month.

Turkey, once an ally of Assad but now a leading voice urging his ouster, has reportedly provided Syrian rebel army leaders with sanctuary.

Davutoglu definitely pointed finger at the Syrian government for launching chemical attack, stressing that Turkey has intelligence evidences proving his claim.

"Current information suggests that the Syrian opposition has no such sophisticated weapons, and delivery mechanism of those weapons could only be operated by the regime," he said.

Recently, Turkey has alarmed its armed forces near the border with Syria in a signal that it might take part in an international coalition to intervene in the neighboring country.

Meanwhile, local reports said it is unlikely that Turkey would offer combat forces, however, a US air base in Incirlik in the southern Adana province could be used as a logistics supplier in case of a military strike against Syrian targets.

Posted in: Europe

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