BANGKOK
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday during a visit to Thailand that Daesh has Chinese and Russian-made weapons.
"Daesh has Russian and Chinese-made weapons," Cavusoglu said. "The Syrian regime gave these weapons to Daesh."
"Daesh represents neither a country nor Islam," he added.
Speaking at the "Turkish Foreign Policy: Approaching Asia and Pacific" conference in Bangkok, Cavusoglu said Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria.
"That is why, we are also against other terror organizations in Syria like the PKK and PYD," Cavusoglu said. "They are not fighting against Daesh for Syria's territorial integrity and peace. They are just fighting to penetrate the country's existing soil."
PYD is the Syria-based Kurdish Democratic Union Party, which Turkey considers to be an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Turkey, the U.S. and the EU list PKK as a terrorist organization.
The minister said the Asia-Pacific expansion of Turkey has a strategic dimension.
"To increase the relations, the visits should become more frequent," Cavusoglu added.
He said the number of Turkish embassies in the region has increased, adding that an embassy in Laos will be opened soon.
Cavusoglu also met Thailand's PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and Deputy PM and FM Tanasak Patimapragorn. According to diplomatic sources, they talked about bilateral relations in the fields of trade, culture, tourism and the economy.
Cavusoglu is the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Thailand in 25 years. He is scheduled to visit Vietnam next.
