Westerwelle stresses Turkey's importance

French Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bernard Valero yesterday stated that French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have reached an agreement on the phone to work together and in cooperation with partners with regard to a humanitarian corridor in Syria which is likely to be opened. Valero added that Juppe and Clinton were concerned that the humanitarian situation in Syria, particularly in the city of Humus which is besieged by regime forces, will be worsened. The high-level diplomatic sources from Turkey say that Ankara was not informed on the proposal of establishing a corridor in Syria due to humanitarian reasons. Speaking to the German Südwestfundfunk (SWR, "Southwest Broadcasting"), German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle yesterday stressed the importance of cooperation with Turkey in order to protect the Syrian people. Stating that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost legitimacy, Westerwelle said that he didn't welcomed the proposal made by France with regard to opening up a humanitarian corridor in Syria.