Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned of the “dangerousness of statements that set aside Turkey’s basic interests and national security, just to make a speech about the withdrawal of Turkish forces” from Syria.
On Thursday, Cavusoglu said that Turkey had taken a serious step towards normalizing relations with Damascus and returning the internal situation to normal in Syria.
He explained that the common goal of the quadripartite meetings in Moscow is to “eliminate terrorist threats, ensure the safe return of refugees and revive the political process in Syria,” noting that these goals are linked, and “require comprehensive plans, which are policies that cannot be reduced to daily political slogans.”
The Turkish minister spoke of “three main factors motivating the movement of refugees, which are the blockage of the political process, ISIS and the Kurdish units.”
He added, “It is not realistic to eliminate instability in Syria and the threats it creates without reviving the political process. That is why we were one of the main actors in all endeavors, including the Astana process.”
