Europe

Europe

Turkey criticizes operations in Syria

08 August 2011 23:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Turkey’s deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Monday while the world is expecting the Syrian government to reform in line with its people’s demands, it carries out large-scale operations resulting in civilian casualties, APA reports siting Xinhua.
Arinc made the remarks following the council of ministers meeting in the Turkish capital of Ankara, saying that neither the timing nor the method of those operations was acceptable.
"(Syrian) government forces launched operations in big cities by using tanks and artillery. Those operations resulted in a number of civilian casualties. Such methods cannot be accepted. Their timing is also wrong, because Ramadan is the holy month of Muslim people. We regret that hundreds of people including women and children lost their lives in Syria," Arinc said.
"Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu informed the council of ministers on the developments in Syria. Syria is a neighboring and friendly country. Turkish and Syrian peoples share a common history, destiny and future. We attach great importance to the prosperity, tranquillity and stability of Syria," he said.
"Davutoglu will travel to Syrian on Tuesday upon Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s directives. He will explain Turkey’s views and ideas in a determined way. Our attitude about developments in neighboring and friendly countries is clear. Syrian people’s rightful demands should be met and democratic reforms should be carried out," he said.
"We hope that Davutoglu’s visit will yield positive results," he said.