Foreign Minister Advocates Buffer Zone in Syria Despite Risk of War

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu stressed the need to establish a buffer zone to create a safe haven for refugees inside Syrian borders while speaking to the BBC on Friday. Davutoğlu, however, did not respond to a question about the fact that such a move could amount to a declaration of war.

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Foreign Minister Advocates Buffer Zone in Syria Despite Risk of War

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu stressed the need to establish a buffer zone to create a safe haven for refugees inside north Syria while speaking to the BBC's Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen on Friday.

Bowen, however, noted that such a move would require the launching of a military operation inside Syrian territory, but Minister Davutoğlu simply ignored that question:

"Mr. Davutoğlu would not be drawn on the fact that inserting a military force into Syria to establish a safe zone would be an act of war," Bowen said.

Davutoğlu also added that taking such a risk was worthwhile to send humanitarian aid to thousands of displaced people in the Arab country and would also serve as a warning to the al-Assad regime to stop killing civilians as well.

Foreign Minister Davutoğlu claimed that a failure to take certain measures now would lead to greater perils in the future. The United Nations Security Council should at least be able to agree upon fundamental principles, he said and moved onto criticize the organization for its inability to assume a clear stance with respect to Syria.

"I am afraid maybe after some years another United Nations Secretary General may have to go to Syria to apologize because of this inactivity," Davutoğlu said.

Turkey is currently hosting around 120,000 Syrian refugees, amidst claims that some of these camps have also been used by the Syrian rebels for battle training. (YY)