Assad to Davutoglu: We Won't Waver in Our Pursuit of Terrorist Groups
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad promised on Tuesday an unceasing battle against the "terrorist groups" that his regime has accused of responsibility for the deadly violence that has wracked Syria since March.
"We will not waver in our pursuit of terrorist groups," Assad told visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, according to state news agency SANA.
In his remarks reported by SANA, Assad again promised what he said would be wide-ranging reforms and said he was open to "all help that brotherly and neighboring countries might offer in that context."
Davutoglu's visit to Damascus was to pass on Ankara's message that it "has run out of patience" with the ongoing violence, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier.
He said Turkey "cannot remain a spectator" to current events in the country with which it shares a border as well as historic and cultural links.
"We do not consider the problems in Syria a question of foreign policy but a domestic matter," Erdogan said.
The prime minister added: "We must listen to the voices coming from over there, listen to them and do what is necessary."
Assad met Davutoglu in the presence of the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, the pro-government Dunia television channel reported.
The Syrian preisdent “briefed Minister Davutoglu on the events witnessed by some Syrian cities as a result of the acts of killing and terrorizing perpetrated by the armed terrorist groups against the civilian citizens and law enforcement members,” SANA reported.
“The Turkish Foreign Minister, for his part, affirmed that he is not conveying any message from anyone, saying that Turkey is keen on Syria's security and stability,” SANA added.
"As Turkey considers that what is happening in Syria is a Turkish internal affair, Syria, too, has the same considerations regarding any issue that faces Turkey," it quoted Davutoglu as telling Assad.
The Turkish minister “stressed that Syria under the leadership of President Assad will become a model in the Arab world after accomplishing the reforms announced by the Syrian leadership, pointing out that stability in Syria is key for the region's stability,” the news agency said.
At a news conference he held upon his return to Ankara, Davutoglu said that “the Syrians are the ones to decide their fate,” noting that Turkey was seeking to “put an immediate end to the bloodshed.”
“What’s important is to end the confrontation between the Syrian army and people and to prevent the recurrence of Hama’s incidents,” Davutoglu added.
“I have only passed on Turkish messages to the Syrian side. A lot of speculation has surrounded the visit but the truth is that I did not pass on Western messages to Syria,” the minister said, confirming SANA’s report.
"We hope that some measures will be taken in the coming days to end the bloodshed and open the way to a process for political reform.”
"We had the opportunity to speak in a clear and succinct way about the measures to take so that the army and the people will not find themselves face to face, and the events like those that have taken place will not reoccur," he said.
Davutoglu spent six and a half hours in talks, half of them one on one with the Syrian leader.
He also indicated that he had delivered to Assad a written message from Turkey's President Abdullah Gul and a verbal communication from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"The developments that will take place in the coming days will be decisive with regard to the expectations of Turkey and the Syrian people," said Davutoglu, adding that Turkey would continue to follow those developments.
Davutoglu's mission comes after Saudi Arabia and two other Arab states in the Gulf withdrew their ambassadors from Damascus, in a development that both "encouraged" and "heartened" the United States.
Assad named a new defense minister on Monday as he faced growing regional isolation and Sunni Islam's top authority urged an end to the bloodshed.
Ankara, whose ties with Damascus have flourished in recent years, has called on Assad to initiate reforms but has stopped short of calling for his departure.
On their Facebook page, Syrian Revolution 2011, an engine of the uprising, invited Davutoglu to "come and pray" in a Damascus mosque "to find out from close up of the demands of the Syrian people."
The regime's repression of Syria's pro-democracy uprising has left more than 2,050 people dead, including almost 400 members of the security forces, the Syrian Observatory says.
Source: Agence France Presse
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