Syrian military officers 'disturbed' by Russia, Iran's active role, says Turkish PM Davutoğlu


Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Wednesday said that Syrian military officers are 'disturbed' by Russia and Iran's active role in the war in Syria, a few days after Turkey summoned Russia's ambassador over violation of Turkish airspace. Speaking at a live broadcast, Davutoğlu said that Russia's involvement did not only bother Syrian officers, but it was also making a grave mistake by violating Turkish airspace and moving the crisis in Syria inside Turkey. "It is quite difficult to grasp what would happen if such violations of laws continue" the Turkish Prime Minister said, and added that Turkey's diplomatic efforts continue to try to shed light on the matter. Davutoğlu pointed that the Syrian Crisis has escalated "unfortunately due to the insensitivity of the international community" and is no longer a domestic matter. He stated that even if foreign powers are able to negotiate with the Assad regime, Syrian people may not accept it."If we accept a transition government with Assad, would Syrian citizens accept this, and would the two million Syrians who came to Turkey go back to their country when Assad -the person who destroyed their homes- is back in power there?" Davutoğlu said."We are facing a very dangerous situation. There is a foreign intervention in Syria today. The operations by coalition forces in which Turkey participated are against a terrorist organization and it didn't interfere with other factions that are fighting in Syria."Yet, now unfortunately Russia is conducting 90 percent of its operation against moderate operations to comfort the Assad regime. And it is making a fabricated intervention against ISIS" Davutoğlu said, adding that oly two of Russia's 57 airstrikes in Syria have hit ISIS positions while the rest have targeted moderate opposition groups, the only forces fighting ISIS in northwestern Syria.Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) said in a written statement on Wednesday that the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Ministry for the third time, and was told that Turkish and Russian officials can hold a meeting in Ankara to prevent further airspace violations from happening in the future.NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Tuesday that Russia has not offered the alliance "any real explanation" over its violations of Turkish airspace, adding, "For NATO, the violation of Turkish airspace by Russia does not look like an accident."