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Maneesh Bakshi
Doha
TURKISH Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday ruled out any possibility of engaging with Syrian leader Bashar al Assad and said that any such attempt would amount to legitimising a reign of terror.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the inauguration of Turkish Hospital in Doha, Cavusoglu said:"A person who is responsible for the killings of 600,000 to one million innocent people has no moral right to continue to rule a nation. Any attempt to negotiate with him would mean legitimising killings against humanity."
He added:"Turkey strongly believes that the Syrian crisis should be resolved through a political dialogue that leads to the establishment of a transition government until people decide their leader through an election."
Speaking on the proposed safe zones inside Syria, he said:"Safe zones with proper security and infrastructure to support basic needs will help Syrian immigrants to return home from the neighbouring states. While 45,000 Syrians have returned home from Turkey, there are still three million Syrians living there."
He also said:"While we believe the (US President Donald) Trump administration agrees to our proposal of safe zones, we want Russia and other countries to be on board too for the effective implementation of the proposal. Currently, we are trying to create livable conditions for the refugees by providing them with basic amenities such as water and electricity."
It is noteworthy that Turkey made the proposal of safe zones inside Syria to ensure safety of Syrians within their country and prevent further migration.
The Turkish minister also suggested a resumption of Geneva talks for the solution to the Syrian issue."Turkey, Qatar and other Gulf countries hold a common view that political dialogue is essential for finding a solution to the Syrian crisis. We have been successful also in making headway in this regard with the evacuation of 45,000 Syrians from Aleppo, extension of ceasefire in other areas as well as holding of Astana talks. However, we must resume the Geneva talks as soon as possible to get the result of these efforts."
He further pointed out that he has been sharing every bit of information regarding his efforts in resuming Geneva talks with Qatari and Saudi Arabian counterparts to get an early solution to the Syrian crisis.
Talking about the role that Gulf countries like Qatar can play in developing safe zones, he said,"First and foremost, all parties must defend the idea of creating safe zones. Once that is done there will be lot to do in terms of building conditions for the refugees to return to Syria. There will be a need to build schools for children, houses for families and other infrastructure; and all of this would need us to raise finance together."
