Turkey trying its best to end suffering in Aleppo

LONDON

Ankara is doing its best to end suffering in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Turkey’s Defense Minister Fikri Isik said Wednesday as he arrived in London for a ministerial meeting of the anti-Daesh coalition.

“Recent events in Aleppo are hurting the hearts of all of us in the name of humanity,” Isık told the media at the Yunus Emre Cultural Institute. “Turkey is doing its best to come to terms with this crime against humanity as soon as possible,” he said.

“There was a cease-fire. We hope that this cease-fire will turn into a lasting peace,” he said.

Isik said his country has fought different kinds of terrorism in the region, including the PKK.

"Turkey has been struggling with the PKK terrorist organization for more than 35 years. Recently, Turkey has engaged in an offensive that left them crippled. That’s why they have turned to suicide attacks,” he said.

He said the Turkish nation was “determined” to “nullify these actions”.

"The terrorist organization will definitely be brought to a position where it can not take action in Turkey,” he added.

But as a terror group, “Deash is the worst enemy of Muslims,” he said.

“Islam is a religion of peace. Until today, the

greatest harm to the religion, understanding of Islam and the image came from Daesh,” he said.

“Therefore, the struggle with Daesh is a duty of the Muslims as much as the Westerners. I believe you experience that in London the most intensely. A number of rituals that have been welcomed before, are now, unfortunately, facing a serious intolerance."

Isik drew a sharp contrast between Turkey’s response to the refugee crisis and the reaction of other countries.

“There are countries that hold discussions for days and months to only accept a thousand or two thousands of refugees, and there are countries where 5,000 or 10,000 refugees have destroyed political stability. But in Turkey we host more than 2 million and 750,000 Syrian and 300,000 Iraqis, In total, more than 3 million brothers and sisters,” he said.

Defense ministers from across the world will gather Thursday to review the Global Coalition’s progress in the fight against Daesh and evaluate the situation in Syria. Isık is expected to hold bilateral meetings.