Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
There are no guarantees of support from Arab countries if Turkey starts ground-based operations in Syria, said Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported Feb. 24.
Davutoglu said that none of the Arab countries supported the Syrian opposition the way Turkey did.
"If today, Assad's army has no full control over Syria, it is only thanks to the support of Turkey," said Davutoglu.
He went on to add that now for Turkey the security of its borders is most important, and every effort will be made to ensure it.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey and Saudi Arabia are not planning to launch joint military operations in Syria.
Moreover, previously, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir stated that ground-based military operations planned by Saudi Arabia in Syria are not against the country's President Bashar al-Assad, but the IS.
He added that Saudi Arabia's intention to participate in the ground-based operations in Syria shows that the country is not indifferent to the growth of terrorism threat in the region.
Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed the lives of over 220,000 people. Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The "Islamic State" and Jabhat al-Nusra are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.
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