The Turkish deputy prime minister has called on the German government to increase its military involvement in Syria.
During an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Mehmet Simsek claimed that the move could result in stemming the flow of refugees into Europe.
“If Germany and others want to stop the influx of refugees, they must stop the bombings by Syrian and Russian forces against the Syrian opposition” Simsek said.
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During the interview Simsek also argued that the resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad is an essential precondition for the peace in Syria..
Press TV reports:
The remarks came days after 10 German tourists lost their lives in a bomb attack in Istanbul, Turkey. The act of terror was blamed on the Daesh Takfiri terrorists.
Simsek also claimed that the origin of terror in Syria is the chaos on the ground caused by what he called the Syrian government’s “refusal to authorize democratic reform and the existence of an opposition.”
Since March 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled the turmoil in the country. The West and some of its allies in the region have backed the carnage in the Arab country which has so far claimed the lives of over 250,000 people.
Syrian forces have been battling militants, particularly Daesh terrorists, on different fronts throughout the country. They have recently been making rapid advances against terrorists in operations backed by the Russian air cover, which began on September 30 last year at the request of the Damascus government.
Over the past several weeks, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem has reiterated the country’s readiness to participate in the upcoming peace talks in Geneva to end the crisis in Syria.
Elsewhere in his comments, Simsek alleged that Ankara is making efforts to fight Daesh, adding that the group “represents for us the greatest danger.”
This comes as Ankara has been among the main supporters of the militant groups operating in Syria. Turkey has also been accused on numerous occasions of being involved in illegal oil trade with Daesh. Russia has recently released pictures and videos purportedly showing the movement of oil tankers from Daesh-controlled areas in Syria toward Turkey.
