WASHINGTON — Turkey needs the international community to step up diplomatic, economic and material support as it hosts over 3 million Syrian refugees and after it lost 59 Turkish troops in Syrian regime attacks before a cease-fire deal was hammered out with Russia last week, Turkey’s envoy to the United States said today.
“Unfortunately, Turkey is the only force between the regime elements and the innocent civilians … and we have sacrificed 59 soldiers in order to defend the local population in that area,” Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic told journalists at the embassy in Washington today.