Davutoglu reiterates Turkey's oppostion to foreign intervention in the mideast

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday reiterated Turkey's opposition to any foreign intervention in countries going through political unrest in the Mideast region, saying they should be able to determine their own future. Davutoglu's remarks came amid his calls for more democracy and freedom in Doha, Qatar, where he attended the sixth Al-Jazeera forum to discuss recent political developments in the Middle East. Speaking to a panel, Davutoglu spoke out against foreign intervention in countries whose people face imminent and sometimes violent suppression by the authorities as they demand change and reform. He stressed that Turkey doesn't want to see divided countries as a result of recent developments in Arab countries, but instead hopes to see these countries emerge stronger than they were before. "There must no foreign intervention in these processes," he stated. "Nations should be able to determine their own future. Foreign intervention would only make things more complicated." Davutoglu added, however, that leaders and intellectuals could become involved in these processes, which he said does not constitute intervention, and that regional countries sharing a common history, together with intellectuals, leaders and journalists, should show solidarity with these processes. Davutoglu later stressed that military interventions in particular could prompt a backlash and complicate things, whereas humanitarian, for instance, is something that everyone should contirbute to. "We have to put all our efforts toward a peaceful transformation in the region," he told reporters.