Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the international community to take immediate actions to resolve the Syrian crisis.
Speaking on Sunday at the second meeting of Friends of Syria international group in Istanbul, Erdogan urged to stop violence in the neighboring country, called on Assad to implement the Annan plan and the international community to provide humanitarian aid to people of Syria.
“We cannot allow Assad’s regime to use the Annan Plan in order to gain time. The UN Security Council should stop the ruling regime in Syria,” Erdogan said.
He added that his country is on the side of Syrian people; it supports them and hopes they “will be able to decide their own destiny.”
“Turkey does not interfere and does not intend to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries,” Erdogan said, adding that the “human drama” in Syria cannot leave the international community indifferent.
“We stand for an immediate end to the bloodshed in Syria. Syrian people should know that they are not alone,” Turkish Prime Minister went on.
He also reported that the number of refugees from Syria to Turkey reached 20,000.
More than 80 countries and several international organizations participated in the meeting.
The UN Security Council member states, Russia and China, do not take part in the Istanbul meeting. Moscow does not support the activities in the Friends of Syria format, saying that the UN Security Council should have the leading role in the settlement of Syrian problem.
