The head of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, announced his support for the positions of his country’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Syria. Bahceli described these positions as “constructive and realistic.”
Bahceli said in his press statements on Monday: “The steps taken by Turkey on Syria are valuable and accurate. Our Foreign Minister’s constructive and realistic words on bringing peace between the Syrian opposition and the Assad regime are a strong hint to seeking a lasting solution. No one should be bothered by this.”
The Turkish leader added: “Our sincere desire is for an atmosphere of normalization to prevail in all fields and with all our neighbours by 2023. What the vast geography we live in tells us is that we should live by embracing, instead of fighting.”
Relations with Assad
Regarding the possibility of restoring relations with the Syrian regime, Bahceli added that “raising the level of relations between Turkey and the Assad regime to the level of political talks, to jointly coordinate in the fight against terrorist organizations, may be one of the topics on the next political agenda.”
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The MHP’s comments come after a controversy sparked by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s comments about Turkey’s first political contact with the Assad regime.
The controversy that resulted from Cavusoglu’s remarks prompted a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday.
Calling Assad an “executioner.”
Bahceli is an ally of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He had earlier vowed that his country “will not hand over Syrian refugees to the executioner who is waiting for them with a dagger in his hand,” referring to the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad.
However, during a speech to the Turkish parliament on May 10th, he stressed that “when things calm down in Syria, they must return.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
