Turks Oppose War in Syria
A recent Turkish poll shows that those opposed to a war in Syria grew from 57% to 72% over the past year.
At a Sept. 4 press conference at Ankara Esenboga Airport, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, before his departure to the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, was asked whether he would be sharing with his bilateral contacts the evidence he has on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Erdogan replied, "There is no need for new evidence. I keep saying the same thing. The entire world has seen the pictures of those massacred, martyred children. If you are careful you will realize that there is no gun wound or blood visible, and that they were martyred with chemical bombs."
When another journalist asked, "Where will Turkey be in a possible US operation against Syria?" Erdogan answered, "Circumstances will determine that. We have said we are ready to take part in any kind of coalition."
When reminded of Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad's warning that "in case the United States launches an operation against Syria, Damascus will hit back not only Israel but also Jordan and Turkey, if they support such an operation," Erdogan reacted, "Our country is always ready for such an eventuality. I don’t know how prepared Syria is. … Why Bashar [al-Assad] is making such a declaration, what does he count on, I don’t know."
