Turkey’s Attempts to Depict Itself as a Victim of Terrorism are not Acceptable

• 07.30.2015, 17:20
•  Near East,  World

Syria and Iraq demanded from Turkey to respect their territorial integrity and sovereignty and stop military actions on their territory under the pretext of the war against the Islamic State. Meanwhile, Turkey gradually intensifies strikes on the positions of the IS and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in these countries.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said that the Turkish government is directly responsible for shedding Syrian blood, sending the appropriate letters to UN Secretary General and Head of the UN Security Council, SANA reports. The Syrian Foreign Ministry reminds that throughout more than four years of the crisis in Syria, Turkey hasn’t ceased to conspire against Syria by supporting terrorists that came from more than 100 countries through Turkey to join the IS.

The Ministry said that the Syrian Arab Republic government rejects the attempts by the Turkish regime to depict itself as the victim. The Ministry also noted that Article 51 of the UN Charter gives Syria the right to defend its people and land from border-crossing terrorism that receives support from the Turkish regime and other regional states, and therefore the Turkish regime has no right to use Article 51 as it is in fact the one that exports the terrorism. The Ministry questioned the honesty of the Turkish intentions and whether there are pretexts to attack Kurds in Syria and Iraq or maybe if they have ulterior internal goals.

At the same time Iraqi parliament appealed to Turkey demanding to stop the bombing of Iraqi territory, Rosbalt reports. "The raids of the Turkish Air Force violates Iraq's sovereignty, they lead to victims among the local population and damage the property of the Iraqi people," the statement says. The members of Iraqi parliament notice that the continuation of the bombing "could negatively affect relations between Baghdad and Ankara."

On the other hand, Iraqi Kurdistan conducts more cautious policy toward Turkey. The Kurdish region has signed several oil contracts with Turkey bypassing the official Baghdad. In contrast to the Iraqi government the region tries not to endanger partnership with Turkey.

Iraqi Kurdistan leader Masoud Barzani in his comments refrained to evaluate Turkey's actions as an encroachment and called PKK and Turkey to return to the negotiations. Barzani stressed that violence and war were inappropriate. He encouraged both sides to return to dialogue and to the principles of the peace process.

In its turn Turkey tries to keep relations with Iraqi Kurdistan in a positive way. Feridun Sinirlioglu, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry Undersecretary, met with Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, Kurdish News Agency Rudaw reports. "Turkey’s goal is to defeat ISIS, the return of Syrian refugees to their homes, and delivering humanitarian assistance," said Sinirlioglu. "Turkey values the Kurdistan region and considers it a factor for the stability and development of the region. We will continue developing our relations with Kurdistan region," he added.