Two recent statements from the Turkish leadership regarding its role in an attempt to de-escalate the Syrian crisis warrant a closer look.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Ankara on Aug. 30, “We called on the international community to show a determination against [the atrocities of the Syrian regime] because of our concerns about what things have become today.” He added, “We showed effort for humanity, for conscience and for Turkey’s security.”
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed dismay on Aug. 26 about Iran’s role in Syria. “We have been on the side of Iran from the very beginning. We in fact did that by turning the whole world against us,” he said. “We, however, did not expect to see Iran now playing such a role in Syria. After the Hama massacre in 1982, the late [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini did not grant any appointment for months to [then-Syrian President] Hafez al-Assad. But today’s approach is not the same approach.”
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/08/turkey-syria-chemical-weapons-iran-iraq-war.html#ixzz2hatwlrb
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