Baku, Azerbaijan, July 28
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
The fight against the IS will also contribute to stability and security in Syria, the minister of national defense of Turkey Vecdi Gonul said Trend on July 28.
Turkey takes the necessary measures to eliminate the danger imposed by the IS. Turkey cooperates with the countries united by a common goal. The country also supports the coalition forces by contributing to the fight against the IS.
The Turkish parliament adopted a mandate in 2012. According to it, Ankara may take any measures to combat terrorism and other threats against the country, reflect the danger that may arise from the terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, protect the interests of the country before and after the crisis. And this gives Turkey the right to fight against any kind of danger that poses a threat to the Turkish state’s safety.
Effective fight against the IS and ensuring the country’s security are among Turkey's priorities. Along with this, it is worth noting that the emergence and strengthening of the IS comes from the instability in Syria, which is supported by the Syrian regime.
As long as the forces feeding the IS aren’t removed, it won’t be possible to destroy it. In short, the fight against the IS will also contribute to stability and security in Syria. And this is possible through realization of the Geneva agreements, which will ensure the requirements of the Syrian people.
Political pressure must be put on the Syrian regime to achieve stability in that country and to start political negotiations. Only this way it is possible to achieve progress in this crisis, and after that a complete elimination of the IS will be possible. Along with this, it is needed to exchange intelligence data and to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. Iraq, which has made significant progress in the fight against the terrorism, can be an example.
- How do you assess the relations between Turkic-speaking countries? Which steps should be taken to develop them?
- Turkey speaks for developing the relations between Turkic-speaking countries. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, significant progress was achieved in developing the relations between Turkic-speaking states. However, on the other hand, currently, there are some structural problems between these countries due to geographic location and political principles.
Water resources management, problems related to borders, ethnic problems make the ethnic rapprochement between Turkic-speaking countries difficult. But all this doesn’t hinder the continuation of cooperation within historical and ethnic values.
Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan created the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in 2010 as part of cooperation and developing the relations with Turkic-speaking countries and this is of special importance for developing the relations between the mentioned countries.
The goal of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States headquartered in Istanbul, is to consolidate and strengthen the economic relations between these states. Moreover, one of the goals of the Council is to strengthen the cultural relations between the Turkic-speaking countries. The Council’s fifth summit to be held in Kazakhstan in September 2015 will focus on the issues related to communications and media technologies.
In accordance with the status of neutrality, Turkmenistan is not a member of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States, but participates in some of its events. However, currently, Uzbekistan avoids ties with the Cooperation Council of the Turkic-speaking States.
Turkey has always supported the Turkic-speaking countries after they gained independence and spoke for developing the bilateral relations. TURKSOY, which is considered the UNESCO of Turkic world, was created in 1993 in order to develop the relations between the Turkic-speaking countries.
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