WASHINGTON
US State Department's spokesperson Victoria Nuland referred to the blast at Cilvegozu border gate with Syria in Turkey's southern Hatay province and said that if they were asked, they would want to do what they could bilaterally or through NATO.
Speaking to reporters at a regular press conference, upon a question which asked, "Is the US in a position to help try and secure this border?" Nuland said, "To my knowledge, we've not been asked for security support at the border from our Turkish ally. But, you know, obviously were we to have that request, bilaterally or through NATO, we would want to do what we could. But we have not had a request, to my knowledge."
Upon another question about if they received an update on what happened from the government in Turkey and if Nuland concerned that the Assad regime was targeting the opposition leaders now, Nuland said, " What I have in terms of update has more to do with casualties. We understand from the Turkish side that we have a total of 12 killed and 28 injured. Our understanding is that the government of Turkey continues to investigate. But as I said yesterday, there is no excuse for violence of the kind that we saw yesterday at a peaceful border crossing. Again, we're not in a position right now to confirm responsibility."
Furthermore, US spokesperson added, "That said, whether it was this incident or some of the mass incidents of violence we've seen inside Syria, it's very clear that the Assad regime is trying to target opposition leaders, whether they're fighters or whether they're political opposition."
