NEW YORK

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has called on Turkey’s political parties to do their duty when they consider parliamentary motions to authorize sending troops into Iraq and Syria.

The Turkish government is to submit two motions to the National General Assembly on Thursday renewing the military’s mandate to operate across the country's southern borders. The motions are also expected to strengthen the authorization to include action against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

Talking to The Anadolu Agency in New York on Tuesday, Cavusoglu said: "The issue is not only the government's. This is also the parliament's duty to secure the nation's well-being and protect stabilization."

The instability in Iraq and Syria now represents the greatest threat to Turkey, Cavusoglu said. The precarious situation in both countries is caused by the three-year civil war in Syria and ISIL’s campaign to carve out a ‘caliphate’ in the region, which have displaced millions of civilians.

Turkey wants to establish a safe zone for displaced Syrians on the southern side of the border to relieve the burden on Turkey, which has accepted more than 1.5 million refugees since the conflict in Syria began.

Cavusoglu said: "This is a burden that the world and the United Nations should take. It is not fair to expect Turkey to take all the burden itself."

Turning to the evacuation of Turkish workers from Libya on Monday night, Cavusoglu said: "Our ministry helped the evacuation of our citizens successfully and we have helped other countries as well," Cavusoglu said.

The 369 Turkish nationals, who were working on construction projects, were flown to Istanbul on Monday due to the deteriorating security situation in Libya.

www.aa.com.tr/en