“Assad must stop this provocation, whether the incidents concerned be deliberate or accidental. He must show evidence of at least a minimum sense of responsibility”. This was Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi’s comment on the situation of extreme tension with Turkey. “The flow of refugees and the repetition of these military incidents at the border are creating very high tension in public opinion and, consequently, in the Turkish Government”, he added. And he specified that “all this must cease”.
The violence must end
In response to journalists, Terzi pointed out that the Syrian president “is responsible for ensuring that acts of violence do not extend beyond the borders and that the violence must stop, inside Syria’s borders too”.
As regards the Syrian leader leaving power, with the help of some Arab countries, Terzi explained that “this possibility is still being discussed but at the moment no solution of this type is imminent. Assad is showing that he intends to continue in his repression and that he wants to resolve the entire problem militarily, by smothering the demands of his people in blood”.
Working on the humanitarian emergency
In the Foreign Minister’s view, therefore, “efforts must focus first and foremost on the humanitarian emergency”. They should then turn to “the diplomatic pathway, which should lead to a true re-opening of the proceedings of the UN Security Council”.
