Turkey urges aiding Syrian people if security council fails to act

The international community must send a strong message of support to the Syrian people and send aid to residents of the city of Homs, under artillery attack by the Syrian military, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu told Reuters in an interview. He said Turkey was ready to host an international conference to support the Syrian people, and to send a message to President Assad to halt a crackdown on his opponents. Davutoglu said that if the UN Security Council fails to protect civilians, then like-minded countries should find ways to end the killing and deliver aid to civilians trapped by military assault, especially those in Homs. "We definitely want to have this meeting in our region showing concerns and the sensitivities and solidarity and regional ownership, maybe in Turkey, maybe in another country," Davutoglu said in an interview shortly before he was due to leave for the United States for talks on Syria. "It is not enough being an observer. It is time now to send a strong message to the Syrian people that we are with them," Davutoglu said in the interview. He added that Turkey will not allow Syria to aggravate terrorism on Turkish soil. Referring to armed insurgent groups' recent seizure of the city of Zabadani, where there have been clashes with Assad's forces since January, he claimed that Damascus does not even have a monopoly on power in its own territories, let alone the ability to control cross-border attacks on Turkey. Davutoglu avoided answering a question on whether Turkey will participate in an armed intervention in Syria, in the event that such an intervention happens. "We strongly hope that there will be no need for foreign intervention," he stated, asserting that an intervention would further the economic and social burdens of the Syrian people, in an already conflict-weary country. Davutoglu also reiterated the Turkish government's claims that the Assad regime lost all its credibility in the international arena and offers no hope that it will implement reforms, considering the atrocities it has conducted against its own people. Mentioning an influx of Syrian immigrants into Turkey, which would greatly increase in the event of an outside intervention, Davutoglu said, "Turkey's doors are open to those who flee from oppression." Meanwhile the foreign minister arrived in the United States on Wednesday for a diplomatic visit to exchange views on bilateral and regional issues with US officials. Davutoglu denied speculations that the talks will exclusively focus on the Syrian crisis and a possible foreign intervention in Syria. He will pay a seven-day visit to the US with an invitation from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, starting on Wednesday.