DOHA
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attended Arab League's 24th Ordinary Summit in the Qatari capital of Doha where he said, "We must start working for the Interim Government (of Syria) to get its place at the United Nations."
Davutoglu delivered a speech at the opening of the summit where he conveyed the greetings of President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan. He also expressed his appreciation to Sheikh Hamad bin Halife es-Sani, the League of Arab States and H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, for their kind invitation.
Stating that the summit marked the beginning of a new chapter in the quest of a free, democratic and prosperous Syria, Davutoglu said, "It represents a historic milestone as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people today have rightfully taken the seat of their country in the Arab League."
Davutoglu emphasized the lack of support of the international community and said, "It is unacceptable that the international community, UN Security Council in particular, stands idle as the Syrian Regime fired around 150 missiles so far which resulted in great loss of lives. We are making an utmost effort to respond the ramifications. We are now hosting almost 200 thousand Syrians in 17 camps. Over 100 thousand Syrians live outside the camps in towns and cities. We are doing our best to care for our guests in all fields pertaining to daily life such as health, education and social needs. On the other hand, Turkish Red Crescent is delivering humanitarian relief to Syria at the zero point of the border in conformity with international legitimacy and humanitarian principles."
"Since the last Core Group of the Friends of the Syrian People that was held in Rome a month ago, almost 5 thousand Syrians have died," Davutoglu added.
Stating that there was no excuse for the issue of Syria, and Syrians have been fighting for three years, Davutoglu said, "We have no luxury to wait and see; that is to say, try to contain the conflict in Syria until the Regime exhausts itself. The threat stemming from Regime’s destructive policies will not get lighter by time; on the contrary, will be exponentially heavier. The decision belongs to the Syrian people. We must start working for the Interim Government to get its place at the United Nations."
Emphasizing on the Palestine issue in his talk, Davutoglu said, "Whatever the course Turkish-Israeli relations can take, we will continue to defend the Palestinian cause, stand by the oppressed and criticize Israel when and if necessary. We will continue doing everything to empower our Palestinian brothers until they become full member to UN as an independent state and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital forever."
-Israel's apology to Turkey-
Touching on the apology of Israel in regards to the Mavi Marmara raid,, Davutoglu said, "President Obama together with Prime Minister Netanyahu called Prime Minister Erdogan and PM Netanyahu expressed Israel's apology to the Turkish people for the loss of life or injury as a tragic result of Mavi Marmara incident. He told that he will instruct his government to take necessary steps in order to compensate the families of the victims. He expressed his willingness to work together with Turkey to improve the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories."
Stating that they would continue to fully support Arab Peace Plan, Davutoglu said, "We will remain committed to this ultimate goal. In this context, it is more important than ever to restore the Palestinian peoples' rights and to ensure a life in dignity whereby they can enjoy all rights and freedoms. We are tirelessly working to this end."
"Turkish PM Erdoğan contacted the Palestinian leaders before his conversation with Netanyahu with a view to having their opinion beforehand. They actually responded positively and we acted accordingly," Davutoglu added.
