President Alabdah Meets with Turkish FM, Condemns Terrorist Attacks in Turkey

President of the Syrian Coalition Anas Alabdah condemned the terrorist attack that took place today in the town of Midyat in the Turkish southeastern Mardin province. He repeated his condemnation of the terrorist bombing that took place in Istanbul on Tuesday. 

Alabdah also condemned the terrorist attack that took place in the Jordanian capital Amman last week.

In a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara on Wednesday, Alabdah expressed solidarity with families of the victims and the peoples of Jordan and Turkey. He thanked Turkey for its support for the Syrian revolution at all levels.

Alabdah said that the Syrian Coalition is seeking to improve its performance on the administrative and political levels and to enhance relations with foreign countries. He added that the Coalition is working to expand representation of women in its ranks and on reaching out to all components of the Syrian society. The Coalition is also working on activating and enhancing the work of the interim government inside Syria to offer services to the population in liberated areas.

For his part, Çavuşoğlu reaffirmed his country’s firm stance on Syria, adding that Turkey’s position on the Assad regime has not changed. He stressed the need for democratic change in Syria as well as for bringing about a political transition without Assad.

Çavuşoğlu pointed out that the local population in the town of Manbej in Syria will take on administration of their town after the expulsion of ISIS from the town, adding that this decision was made with a US-Turkish understanding.

At the meeting, the Coalition raised issues and challenges facing Syrian refugees living in Turkey. The Turkish foreign minister promised his country will seriously study such issues and that solutions will be provided. Çavuşoğlu also said that Turkish authorities decided to open the Cilvegözü border crossing for Syrians during Eid al-Fitr. (Source: Syrian Coalition)