Interim Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu on Wednesday urged the U.N. Security Council to not be blindfolded by the brutality of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the spillover effect of the conflict in Syria while it fights the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
"While fighting ISIS we should harbor no illusions about the conditions that led to its rise. ISIS did not suddenly spontaneously appear out of nowhere and spread like a cancer on its own," Sinirlioğlu said. "It was through the tactical cooperation and operational air support by the terrorist Assad regime and its sectarian collaborators that enabled ISIS's rapid expansion in Syria."
His comments came during a U.N. Security Council ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
"The suppression of democratic aspirations of the Syrian people, divisive sectarian policies, war crimes and massive violations of human rights that were committed with impunity by the Assad regime have combined to create ground for radicalization, extremism and recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters by ISIS," Sinirlioğlu added.
He told ministers at the meeting that terrorism and extremism are not Middle Eastern and North African phenomena and should not be associated with any religion, nationality or race.
He also warned that world regions are not immune to the ongoing Middle East violence, as terrorism has become a transnational phenomenon.
The conflicts in Syria, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan have killed hundreds of thousands of victims and displaced millions more.
Approximately 250,000 people have been killed and 10 million displaced in Syrian alone, according to the U.N.
Sinirlioğlu acknowledged that ISIS is a threat to Turkey and Ankara has spared no effort to counter the militant group.
Turkish war planes have carried out air operations against ISIS since late August, as part of the U.S.-led international coalition fighting the militants.
Sinirlioğlu suggested parameters for a comprehensive strategy to deal with terrorism in Syria such as degrading all terrorist groups, creating safe zones in Syria and working toward a political solution.
He said all terrorist groups should be degraded.
"There should be no room for moral relativism in the fight against terrorism," he said.
He called on his counterparts in the U.N. Security Council to create safe areas in Syria cleared of ISIS where protection would be provided to the civilian population.
"Such zones, if implemented appropriately, would keep Syrians inside Syria, help a voluntary return of refugees and encourage people to believe again in a stable future for their country," he said.
Ankara has advocated for a safe zone to be established in northern Syria where refugees attempting to escape Syrian forces and ISIS can be accommodated.
The U.S. has been reluctant to create such a buffer zone thus far, saying it would be difficult to protect the area.
Turkey has taken in approximately 2 million Syrian refugees, a number that has been growing from shortly after the conflict began in 2011.
Noting the existence of an international consensus that there should be a political solution to the Syrian civil war, Sinirlioğlu said such a solution should meet the legitimate demands and aspirations of the Syrian people and ensure a managed and orderly transition to real political change."In the political process we should vitalize a united, democratic, secular, non-sectarian, multicultural Syria without Assad," he said.
As discussions on a political transition and Assad's future continue, Russian jets on Wednesday began conducting airstrikes in Syria that allegedly targeted moderate opposition fronts.
The latest Russian moves may complicate a potential political transition process with Moscow voicing support for Assad to remain in office but the U.S. and its allies pushing for the Syrian president to relinquish power.
