Turkey's Foreign Policy 'Multilateral, Balanced'

Turkey has been pursuing a multilateral and balanced foreign policy, the country's foreign minister said on Thursday.

"In international relations, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies. Interests of countries are always prioritized," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at an event in the southeastern Mardin province.

Cavusoglu added that sometimes your country's interests could be incompatible with other countries.

"You may not agree with a country on certain issues, but it would not be a right thing to cut all ties with it, he said.

It is not right to rely on just one country in all fields, including energy resources and security, the foreign minister added.

Referring to the recent developments in Idlib, northwestern Syria, he said Turkey tried to find a political solution to the conflict.

Cavusoglu said the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syrian and its allies recently increased their attacks, affecting civilians -- mostly children.

More than 40% of people, who are now displaced, are children, he said, adding: "If we include women, it reaches 60-70%."

He said the installation of tents and constructions of houses from briquettes for the displaced Syrians continued in the region.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

But more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces in the de-escalation zone since then as the cease-fire continues to be violated.

As a fresh move, Turkey announced on Jan. 10 that a new cease-fire in Idlib would start just after midnight on Jan. 12. However, the regime and Iran-backed terrorist groups continued their attacks.

More than 1 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the last year.

Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in some 3.7 million Syrians who fled their country, making it the world's top refugee-hosting country.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar -