Davutoglu reacts to call from US Congress on Zionism

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu responded on Thursday to a letter which was sent by 89 members of the US Congress, urging Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to retract his remarks describing Zionism as a crime against humanity. Speaking at a press conference with his Romanian counterpart Titus Corlatean on Thursday, Davutoglu said that Erdogan had made sharper statements against anti-Semitism than any world leader and that Turkey was against all kinds of racism. "Our position is clear; we are against anti-Semitism. But we have been and will always be against Israel's expansionist and aggressive policies in the region. Nobody should have second thoughts about it. Turkey has a historical record that requires no explanation. Turkey has been a safe harbor for the Jewish community in the past 600 years, while Europe suffered from ghettos and the Holocaust. We will keep our door open for every community that faces challenges in terms of human rights," Davutoglu said, also warning that nobody should try to tarnish Turkey's clean record and seek to approve Israel's aggressive attitude. Davutoglu yesterday also met with UN Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos. During the meeting, the humanitarian situation in Syria and cooperation possibilities between Turkey and the UN on the issue were discussed.