Ankara denies criticizing Syrian aid corridor plans

Foreign Ministry officials have denied allegations by the Turkish media that the government demanded that any humanitarian aid corridor to Syria be established through the Mediterranean Sea, rather than Turkish territory. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, officials said that Turkey will abide by resolutions based on the consensus of international bodies such as the UN and claimed that it is too early to comment on the possible location for a humanitarian corridor to Syria, the establishment of which will depend on a UN Security Council resolution. However, the Russian and Chinese vetoes of the UN resolution aimed at forcing President Bashar al-Assad to step down have revealed the current polarization of the UN Security Council. The Turkish press reported on Thursday that Ankara would prefer that an aid corridor to Syria be established across the Mediterranean Sea, supported by a British naval base in South Cyprus, rather than Turkey's southeastern territories. Claiming that Turkey rejects a "no fly" zone and a buffer zone at its shared border with Syria, newspapers reported that Turkey deems such initiatives to be a major security threat. According to reports, Ankara also claimed that these initiatives will require authorization by Parliament. Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said this week that his country has renewed calls for the establishment of humanitarian aid corridors in Syria. Juppe first proposed the concept in November, when he suggested creating humanitarian corridors with either Syrian approval or under an international mandate that would see food and medicine shipped into Syria to alleviate civilian suffering. Under the plan, the corridors would link Syrian population centers to the frontiers of Turkey and Lebanon, to the Mediterranean coast or to an airport. "The idea of humanitarian corridors that I previously proposed, which would allow NGOs to reach the zones where scandalous massacres are taking place, should be discussed at the Security Council," Juppe said on Wednesday. He also said that the idea of aid corridors was being discussed as part of an effort to convince Russia not to veto a new UN resolution on Syria. Russia, along with China, vetoed a UN resolution earlier this month urging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.