ANKARA
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said that Turkey has been extending a great assistance to Syrians who had to leave their country.
"The international community must make greater contribution," Gul said during his meeting with Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Ki-moon at the Cankaya Presidential Palace in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
A statement posted on the website of the Presidency of Turkey said that Gul and Ban discussed several issues such as the current situation in Syria, Palestine, Somalia and Cyprus.
President Gul reiterated that the UN should play a more active role regarding the Syrian issue.
"President Gul stressed Turkey's corroboration for the UN, which he said is the most important global actor that serves the international peace and stability and reiterated that the international community should make greater contribution regarding the Syrian refugees and underscored that the UN should play a more active role in the Syrian issue," the statement said.
"The President further referred to the recent visit of President Sheikh Mahmud of Somalia to Turkey, which he proclaimed will lend its support for this country, accentuating the opportunity for the parties to revitalize the peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine due to the fact that the latter has been granted non-member observer state status in the UN," it said.
The statement said, "UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, revealing his appreciation for Turkey's open door policy for the Syrian people uprooted from their country, lauded Turkey for its generosity in that more than 200,000 Syrian people have taken refuge in Turkey and he further stated that they are well aware of both the expenditures Turkey has made for these refugees and the fact that the international community is not making enough contributions, adding that the UN has urged all the relevant aid organizations to lend their corroboration in this regard. The UN Secretary General also declared that if the Syrian administration uses chemical weapons, it will have to pay for its deeds before international law, about which he said he has sent President Assad two letters, and he also informed President Gul that US Secretary of State Clinton, Russian FM Lavrov and Special Representative Ibrahimi of the Arab Union came together in Dublin as part of the Syrian issue."
Writing by Emel Gozellik
