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Turkey's foreign minister has said Ankara does not take sides in Syria, as clashes continue between al-Qaeda-affiliated radical groups and Kurdish militants, warning against what he called "multilateral conflict."
Ahmet Davutoğlu told a joint news conference on Wednesday with his Indian counterpart, Salman Khurshid, that all groups in Syria are "friends of Turkey," referring to Kurdish groups and the Syrian opposition fighting to oust Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad.
"We don't consider ethnic and sectarian identity [while pursuing policies]," Davutoğlu said, adding that Ankara defended the rights of Kurds when they were discriminated against by the Syrian regime.
Davutoğlu urged all sides in northern Syria to avoid sparking new conflicts and stressed the necessity for Turkey to step up its border security. He said Turkey's military reinforcements on the border are not directed at particular groups in Syria, in an attempt to dismiss criticisms that Ankara is concerned as Kurdish militants assert themselves in northern Syria and is considering trying to undermine the control of Kurdish militants in areas bordering Turkey.
Davutoğlu also implicitly warned against establishing an autonomous Kurdish state in Syria, noting that unilateral moves in the country could cause even more bloodshed and the two-way conflict could transform into a multi-player war.
Kurdish militants affiliated with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Syrian offshoot of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), captured two key towns near Turkey in recent days and are thought to be preparing to declare an autonomous state. Their leader, Saleh Muslim, downplayed the specter of creating another state in northern Syria and said earlier this week that they are only building local administrations to provide public services in areas long left lawless and without public order after forces loyal to the Syrian regime retreated last year.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is heading a meeting on the Syrian crisis at the Prime Ministry.
Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, Interior Minister Muammer Güler, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, Chief of General Staff Necdet Özel, MİT head Hakan Fidan and Prime Ministry Undersecretary Efkan Ala are participating in the meeting.
The latest situation in northern Syria will be discussed in the meeting. (Cihan/ Today's Zaman)
SHOT LIST
Wednesday, July 24, 2013 SOURCE: CHA
ANKARA, TÜRKİYE
Turkish FM Davutoğlu at press conference
DURATION: 02: 07
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