NEW YORK (AA) - As the diplomatic traffic goes on at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) towards a Syria resolution, Turkish Foreign Minister warned that this was the UN Security Council's "last chance".
Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey who is in New York on the occasion of the UN General Assembly, held a joint press conference with Finland's Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja after attending a meeting of Group of Friends of Mediation.
Noting that the Syrian crisis must be stopped without further loss of lives, Davutoglu said: "This is the UN Security Council's last chance to save its face. UNSC has already lost face for failing to prevent the Syrian war. This is a test for all of us, and UNSC in particular, and I hope they pass this test."
Stating that the UNSC has failed to do its part in the Syria crisis so far, Davutoglu said that the last hope was to find a political resolution.
Reminding that Turkey has made all the efforts it could to prevent a further escalation of the situation in Syria, Davutoglu said that the UNSC has failed numerous times to come up with a resolution, and said: "I hope they will not fail this time; because each failure causes more loss of lives. They have a much bigger responsibility now."
Finland's Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja said that the UNSC must act immediately, not just to stop the use of chemical weapons, but also to end the current violence committed by conventional weapons. "Failure (to reach a resolution) is not an option," Tuomioja said.
Meanwhile, Davutoglu held a bilateral meeting with British Foreign Secretary William Hague to discuss the Syria issue, and exchange ideas on the pending UNSC resolution.
Stating that the resolution must be strict and deterrent, Davutoglu said that there must be clear sanctions against the Assad regime in case they fail to comply with the process of destructing chemical weapons, and pointed out the importance of taking the necessary steps to end the current bloodshed.
Hague also stressed the importance of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, and said that they brought this up at the UNSC.
Davutoglu and Hague also exchanged ideas about Geneva 2, and discussed the objectives and parameters of a possible meeting.
Turkish FM attends first meeting of MIKTA initiative in New York
Davutoglu who is New York for the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, attended the first meeting of MIKTA initiative along with the foreign ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Australia on Thursday.
"The five countries which are effective actors in their regions, have made important contributions for regional, global peace and stability and followed constructive approaches for the international issues," Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Davutoglu attended the first meeting of MIKTA initiative in New York along with the foreign ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Australia.
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