Azerbaijan, Baku, April 4 / Trend, I. Izzet /
Turkey should not have severed ties with Syria. "Syria is our neighbor, and if Turkey had not severed ties with Syria, it could have played a very active role in the events. The rupture of relations caused certain problems," former Turkish Foreign Minister Hikmet Çetin told Trend on Thursday.
According to him, Turkey could have played a more active role in the Syrian issue; however that is not possible due to the rupture of relations.
"Turkey should have shown restraint and continue the dialogue. Syria is our neighbor. Turkey has close ties with Syria, we share a common border. Therefore, Turkey could have played a more active role in the peace process, but the situation deteriorated following the rupture of ties," Çetin said.
According to the former Foreign Minister, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can not remain in power after the death of so many people. However, no one knows what awaits Syria after him.
"No one has any plans for the post-Assad period. Nobody knows who will come to power after him, including the U.S. and the EU. Assad must leave, however the Syrian opposition is too heterogeneous. It includes terrorist organizations, radicals and other forces. Syria is a peculiar country with Muslim, Christian, Kurdish, Turkish and Armenian populations. Various forms of religion are practiced in the country, including Sunnism and Shism. Assad must leave, but first he must establish stability in the country in order to prevent the creation of a dangerous situation. The latter may have negative repercussions for the entire region, including in Turkey. That is, until today, nothing can be said about the immediate future of Syria," the former Minister said.
The conflict between the government and the opposition in Syria has continued since March 2011. According to various sources, 70,000 people have been killed; nearly half a million were forced to leave their homes during this period. Syrian authorities claim that they oppose well-armed trained fighters arriving from abroad. According to official Damascus, a number of armed groups are directly linked to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.