Turkey lauds Arab call for UN peacekeeping force in Syria

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Turkish diplomats told Today's Zaman on Monday that Turkey backs all initiatives aiming to halt the bloodshed in Syria, especially ones proposed by regional actors. This is in line with a principled position Ankara has taken, putting special emphasis on regional ownership in solving crises in the region. “The Arab League's decision should be viewed from this perspective and be supported,” the diplomats underlined.

The Arab League has been at the forefront of regional efforts to end President Bashar al-Assad violent crackdown on the opposition in Syria. Foreign ministers of Arab League member states in Cairo on Sunday called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that provides an immediate ceasefire in Syria and protects civilians. “Turkey and the Arab League are working in close coordination to develop a regional initiative to solve the Syrian crisis,” said Veysel Ayhan, an expert on the Middle East from the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM) and an academic at Abant İzzet Baysal University. He said it was important for the Arab League to have Turkish support behind initiatives developed by the league.

The league also announced that an international conference will be hosted in Tunisia on Feb. 24 that will be attended by interested parties such as the US, the EU, Turkey and Arab League members. The conference will be the first meeting of the “Friends of Syria” group, created after a UN attempt to make Bashar al-Assad step down was blocked by Russia and China on Feb. 4 at the Security Council.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu conveyed his appreciation of the conference during a telephone conversation on Sunday with his Tunisian counterpart, Rafik Abdessalem, and reiterated his support for regional initiatives concerning the Syrian crisis.

The growing instability in its southern neighbor has made Turkey increasingly worried, and it will be forced at the coming meeting to navigate between “extreme caution” and “assertive proposals” for the Syria crisis, Oytun Orhan, a Syria expert at ORSAM told Today’s Zaman. “Even sanctions can, despite Turkish hesitation, be put on the table given the current crisis.”

Orhan ruled out the possibility that Turkey will discuss any formal plans to unilaterally intervene in Syria or impose a buffer zone to protect civilians and rebel forces, and also emphasized that Turkey will “not discuss arming rebel groups” in the near future. “Nobody knows what will happen if we start giving weapons to these people,” he stated.

Nonetheless, he stated that Turkey will seek to gain support for providing the Syrian National Council (SNC) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) arms or other military assistance.

Gökhan Bacık, director of the Middle East Research Center at Zirve University, is cautious, however, about the Arab League’s call, saying that this should not be perceived as an active initiative by regional countries. “By calling on the UN to conduct a military operation, Arab League countries may have tried to shift responsibility over Syria to the UN,” Bacık told Today’s Zaman.

Bacık noted that a viable solution in Syria is impossible without persuading Russia to get on board with the Western and Gulf countries. “Calling a UN mission to play a role in Syria depends on the approval of the Security Council, namely Russia,” he warned, recalling that previous UN attempts had been blocked by Russian and Chinese vetoes at the Security Council.

Moscow is maintaining old economic, strategic and political ties with the Syrian regime, which has purchased significant amounts of arms from Russia. Syria has also provided Russia with a naval base at the port of Tartus, which offered Russia the opportunity to have more of a say in the eastern Mediterranean, particularly in relation to the US and its allies. Furthermore, the Assad-led Baathist regime in Syria has participated for decades in political alliances with Soviet Russian and Chinese regimes.

In the meantime, Davutoğlu, currently on a diplomatic visit to the United States, has been continuing intensive diplomatic meetings since last week to shore up support for a Turkish regional initiative for Syria.

Davutoğlu on Sunday spoke on the phone with Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Muhammad Al Thani, prime minister of Qatar, which holds the rotating presidency of the Arab League. Both reportedly exchanged their views on the crisis in Syria and discussed what steps need to be taken to solve the Syrian crisis. On the same day, Davutoğlu also had talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in which he discussed the same subject. On Saturday, Davutoğlu had a phone conversation with Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Araby as well.