Turkish FM: Transition in Syria cannot happen with Assad

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that a transition in Syria cannot happen with Assad and the "bloody-handed" Baath ideology, pledging to provide all means of support to both Iraqi and Syrian Turkmens who are escaping war zones.

Çavuşoğlu, speaking at the third Turkmen Assembly General Meeting in Ankara on Thursday, talked about the oppression Turkmens face from Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, the Syrian PKK affiliate Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Daesh.

The meeting was attended by leading Turkmen figures as well as many academics and officials from various embassies.

The meeting was also attended by Turkmen representatives from Bayırbucak, Aleppo, Tartus, Hama, Homs, Idlib, Raqqa and Damascus.

Stressing that Syrian Turkmens must enhance their activities at the political level, Çavuşoğlu said: "Political transition is a must with efforts to establish a democratic state based on the rule of law and allowing its citizens to elect their leaders in a new Syria. Our goal is to support our Syrian Turkmen brothers to have a say in their country’s administration."

Çavuşoğlu also called on Turkmens from various regions of Syria to unite.