Ankara, Republic of Turkey (Weltexpress). Political circles outside Syria that oppose Russian or Iranian influence on the future of Syria are trying to exert control themselves, said Omer Celik, spokesperson for the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party.
‘Instead of focusing on the unity and integrity of Syria, there are circles that aim to create a Syrian administration by minority forces. We say that both the majority and the minority must play their role in the future of Syria and take the place that is rightfully theirs. There is no other approach. There should be no conditions. We are convinced that those who say there should be no Iranian or Russian influence in Syria are the ones who are themselves trying to become sponsors in Syria,’ he told reporters.
According to Celik, the process of lifting sanctions against Syria must continue. ’As you know, the US has imposed sanctions on Syria since 1970. On 6 January, it was decided to make some exceptions to the sanctions regime. This is, of course, extremely valuable in terms of increasing the capacity of the Syrian administrative structure. As a first step, these exceptions are positive, but I would like to say that we do not consider these measures to be sufficient by any means,’ he said.
