Will Turkey pay a bill for harboring terrorists fighting in Syria?
In an interview with Turkey’s HALK TV, Syrian President Bashar Assad stated that Turkey would pay a “heavy price” for harboring and backing “terrorists” in order to oust him, warning that the terrorists would turn on Turkey, before long.
Assad who referred to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as “bigoted” also accused Turkey of aiding terrorists by allowing them to cross into Syria,
Syrian leader also added that it was not possible to put terrorism in one’s pocket and use it as a card because it was like a scorpion which would not hesitate to sting at the first opportunity. He added that in the near future, the terrorists now fighting in Syria would have a serious impact on Turkey and Turkey would pay a heavy price for it.
Turkey has been home to hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled Syria since the country’s unrest began in March 2011. Turkey is also known to have extended the biggest support to Syrian opposition forces. The country has been playing a key geopolitical role in the conflict, as it shares a 900-kilometer border with Syria.
According to Assad Erdogan has a sectarian agenda as ruling AK Party has origins in conservative Islamist politics. The Syrian leader believes that Erdogan only wants the Muslim Brotherhood to return to Syria, that is his main and core aim.
Assad also said “Before the crisis, Erdogan had never mentioned reforms or democracy, he was never interested in these issues”. Turkey, had targets to build up a good relationship with Syria until a short while ago, that is before the civil conflict erupted there.
As for the most recent picture in Syria this is what has been happening;
Radicalization of opposition groups.;Just last month, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) seized the small town of Azaz – located just five kilometers from the border with Turkey – and has been fighting alongside the local Northern Storm brigade.
Russia says the incident provides more evidence that extremism is winning against the moderate opposition. “The balance of power among the opposition fighting forces is stacking up decisively in favor of the Islamists,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. “We are by no means gloating about this – clearly a dangerous new act in the bloody tragedy is unfolding.”
“We warned of such a turn of events at the very beginning of the Syrian epic, when our opponents, hoping for the regime’s swift fall…were ready to support any forces calling for the government’s overthrow,” she added.
As for losses in the country so far, The United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, and says it has been notified of at least 14 chemical attacks (Reuters has reported).
As it looks now, it is unclear whether Assad will run for president next year because of the constantly changing situation on the ground. The picture is expected to become clearer in the next four to five months as Assad says it will depend on what the Syrian people want.
Regarding usage of chemical weapons in the country Assad denies having used chemical weapons, blaming the opposition for the attacks. The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution outlining the details of taking Syria’s chemical weapons under international control and ultimately destroying them.
As for the remedy to this unbeatable conflict on the other hand UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said “All parties in the Syrian conflict must engage constructively at the upcoming Geneva-2 conference, which would be a significant step towards the “creation of a democratic state that guarantees the human rights of all in Syria”. The target date for the new peace conference in Geneva is set for mid-November.
05.10.2013
Editor, BTT
SOURCE: BTT & MEDIA
