ANKARA
The Turkish foreign minister has said Turkey would explain its policy concerning the Syrian refugees and demand concrete action from the UN during an upcoming special meeting of the organization's principal organ for international peace and security, the Security Council.
"During tomorrow's session, we will share with members of the UN Security Council Turkey's policy on Syrian refugees and we will express our demand for efficient steps from the UN to address the problems we are facing," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters before departing the Turkish capital for the United States on Wednesday.
Davutoglu pointed to the intense flow of Syrians into Turkey due to continuing violence in Syria, stating that not only Turkey, but also Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon were affected by the refugee influx.
The minister said Turkey had been displaying efforts for the rapid and active participation of the UN in the solution of the matter, and within that framework, he would be attending a special session of the UN Security Council on August 30.
He said neighboring countries of Syria would also attend the gathering.
"UN Security Council's decision to discuss the refugee issue in a special session is an important step, but we expect concrete results," Davutoglu said.
The foreign minister noted that Syria's intensifying air raids against residential areas led to more migration from Syrian cities.
"There were nearly 13,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey when the mission of Kofi Annan (former joint UN and Arab League special envoy on Syria) took office in April. This figure has exceeded 80,000 now," he said.
Davutoglu said Turkey had erected new camps to accommodate the increasing number of Syrians fleeing the violence in their country.
"No matter how many camps you erect, as long as air raids continue, the atmosphere in Syria is likely to turn into the situation in Bosnia and more people may flee," he said.
"When the number of refugees is expressed with hundreds of thousands, it is no longer an internal conflict but an international issue," the minister added.
Davutoglu said nobody should expect Turkey to take on the whole responsibility for an international problem.
The minister also said Russia's and China's vetos made it difficult to activate UN mechanisms on the matter. "This is an humanitarian issue. Rather than taking a political stand, the tragic side of the situation should be seen," he noted.
