Foreign Minister tells Syria to stir up Turkey

Syria's embattled government should not even consider trying to incite Turkey's Kurds in a bid to foment tension in its northern neighbor, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has warned Damascus during talks on the Arab Spring in Qatar. "They should think about the past and not even think about playing such a card. Everyone will see the results of such an act," Davutoglu said Oct. 25 during an official visit to Doha. Davutoglu met the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil as part of his talks in Doha. Speaking about the death of former Libya leader Moammar Gadhafi, Davutoglu said he was sorry about the violent nature of the colonel's end. "Even though it may be explained through social and psychological reasons, I was sorry [to see this end]. I watched for a while and then could not watch more. It is saddening that a political and biological life has ended in this way for a leader who was present for almost the entire time during and after the Cold War," said Davutoglu. But Gadhafi was also somewhat responsible for his end because he ignored his people's demands and international calls, including ones from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for reform, Davutoglu said. Davutoglu refuted recent reports that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad could share Gadhafi's violent end, saying the two countries had different structures. "Syria's ethnic structure is different than Libya. It is located in a more critical political region. [Syria] has unsolved problems with Israel. It [is close to] sensitive places like Lebanon and Iraq," said Davutoglu. The minister, however, said Syria was similar to Libya in that it was not possible for governments who lose legitimacy in the eyes of their people to survive. "There are lessons from Libya that everyone can take." Jalil, meanwhile, offered condolences following the massive earthquake that killed hundreds of people in the eastern province of Van while also saying Libya would never forget Turkey's support during his country's hard times. Davutoglu said Turkey's assistance to Libya would continue and added that Turkey hoped to help restore Libya's political, economic and security systems while also improving cooperation with the North African country. During his talks in Doha, the Turkish foreign minister also met with Nabeel al-Arabi, the head of the Arab League, as well as Qatari Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Premier and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani. Davutoglu yesterday proceeded to Jordan, where he was scheduled to meet with King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.