Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 7th Energy and Economic Summit in Istanbul, organized by the Atlantic Council, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “the main culprit for today’s humanitarian tragedies and acts of terrorism is the Assad regime, which has killed 370,000 of its people. Assad is implementing state terror. Let me say this clearly; whoever stands behind Assad that implements state terror is as guilty as him.”
Erdogan stressed that “these 370,000 Syrians, killed by barrel bombs, chemical and conventional weapons, are not statistical figures. They are humans. The regime is trying to maintain its power through sectarian conflict and terrorist organizations.”
“Now, all terrorist organizations in the region are serving the Assad regime directly or indirectly. Daesh is supported by Assad. Assad now is taking Daesh oil and turning it into money. One has to be blind to not see this. It is obvious. In this regard, there is no difference between Daesh and PYD, YPG.”
Underscoring that the PYD was backed by Assad, who used to be an enemy of the Kurds up until yesterday, President Erdogan said: “He did not even issued IDs or passports to the Kurds. We used to pressure him, saying ‘They are your citizens, your people.”
The Syrian Coalition said that the Assad regime’s frequent violations the UN Security Council’s resolution 2209 that condemns and bans the use of poison gas shows utmost disregard for international laws and conventions.
It stresses the need for a quick and strong response from the UN Security Council to these crimes under Chapter VII of the UN charter as is spelled out in Resolution 2209. “We lay legal responsibility to protect Syrian civilians on the UN Security Council, which is also responsible for preserving international peace and security, and work to prevent more casualties as a result of the continuing aerial bombardment campaigns waged by the Assad regime against civilians.”
“Assad’s continuance of committing more crimes will drag the country into a state of chaos where extremist organizations will flourish, making it imperative for friendly countries to support the FSA with advanced weapons to protect civilians and restore stability to Syria.” (Source: Syrian Coalition + Agencies)
