FM: Turkey backs Saudi initiative at UN, putting pressure on Assad

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has lauded a Saudi Arabian draft proposal to the UN General Assembly, backing an Arab plan that recommends a UN-backed regime change in Syria, saying that the proposal would place important pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to cease his campaign of violence. During a joint press conference with Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosniak member of the tripartite presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Davutoglu asserted that the UN General Assembly decision regarding the proposal would significantly increase pressure on Assad to end his brutal crackdown against opponents of the regime, although he reiterated that the proposal is currently non-binding. Davutoglu anticipated a message from an international conference in Tunisia on Feb. 24 as a strong warning against the Assad regime, and also as something that expressed solidarity with Syrian people. Davutoglu also asked the UN to intensify its efforts to solve the humanitarian crisis in the country, in addition to its efforts to initiate a regime change. He noted that Turkey has extended humanitarian assistance to Syria by working in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. Turkey has become more and more anxious as it relates to a influx of refugees due to the humanitarian situation in neighboring Syria. Meanwhile, Izetbegovic, who is the son of Bosnia's war-time president, Alija Izetbegovic, has stressed that Turkey is a brother country to Bosnia and Herzegovina, adding that Turkish government leaders are also his well-respected friends. During the joint conference with Davutoglu, Izetbegovic, in the days after the formation of the government in Bosnia following 16 months of political uncertainty since 2010, stated that the political situation has become much better in the country. Saying that the government's ultimate aim is to provide permanent peace between the country's ethnic groups, he requested international assistance for the return of Bosnian refugees, who fled due to instability during the failed process of forming a government. President Izetbegovic deemed Bosnia's prospective NATO accession as an important step towards encouraging ethnic reconciliation in the country. In terms of relations with Turkey, Izetbegovic also told they seek Turkey's assistance to increase agricultural productivity. A statement released by the Foreign Ministry last Friday said that Turkey wishes luck to the new government in realizing these necessary reforms, reiterating its support for Bosnia and Herzegovina in all of its endeavors. The statement said that Turkey attaches great importance to relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina for helping to create enduring peace and stability in the Balkans, adding that Turkey will continue closely cooperating with the Balkan country for the prosperity and security of the Bosnian people. Izetbegovic was welcomed on Wednesday in Ankara by President Abdullah Gul, who organized a lunch in honor of him at the Cankaya presidential palace. Izetbegovic visited Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, who is recovering after a second abdominal surgery. "Erdogan does not only belong to Turkey. Including two million Bosnians, more than 1 billion people doubtless now pray for him," he said.