Davutoglu sees no point in engaging in dialogue with Syria

YAYINLAMA
GÜNCELLEME



Speaking at a joint news conference with his Costa Rican counterpart, Enrique Castillo, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu refused the suggestion of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on having dialogue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Davutoglu said that Ankara supported the immediate launch of efforts to establish a transitional government as part of the Geneva conclusions, but rejected the idea of dialogue with the Syrian regime as part of such efforts. "There can be no point in engaging in dialogue with a regime that continues to massacre its own people even during Eid al-Adha," Davutoglu said, warning that steps that could give legitimacy to the regime should be avoided while violence rages in Syria. "What is important now is to promote peace through strong messages," Davutoglu said, adding that Turkey’s consultations with Russia continue and that Turkey is open to any idea about steps to be taken jointly.  Davutoglu also said that he was saddened that the UN-brokered holiday truce did not hold, and criticized the UN Security Council for failing to give a strong message to Damascus to end the 19-month violence. For his part, Castillo said that he would be pleased with a deeper cooperation between his country and Turkey. "Turkey is a very important player in the international arena in terms of multidirectional diplomacy. Turkey is also a prosperous and developing country which takes significantly anticipatory steps. We, as Costa Rica, are very happy to be a partner of Turkey," Castillo said, adding that the UN which has failed to take a clear step with regard to the Syria issue needs a reform.