“No one can give a test to Turkey, as if it did not do what is necessary. We take our own decisions and will do what is necessary in order to protect our national interests,” Davutoğlu said in an interview late Sept. 22.
Kerry had stated that the United States was expecting Turkey to step up in the fight against ISIL now that the country had secured the release of 49 hostages that were held by the militants. Davutoğlu said the issue was discussed with U.S. Secretary of State and Defense Minister Chuck Hagel during a recent visit to Ankara.
The prime minister cited a number of foreign media reports and said they gave the impression that Turkey was “being tested and had to prove itself.”
“Everybody should know – something that I also told Mr. Kerry when I was the foreign minister – that Turkey does not have to prove anything. Turkey has always displayed that it can take a decisive attitude in line with what it believes in. They witnessed how Turkey was attentive even at times when [our] allies did not take enough care for some of our sensitiveness,” Davutoğlu said.
No one should associate the current anti-ISIL coalition issue with the Turkish hostages and say, “Let’s see what Turkey will do now,” he added.
“It’s us that will make the decision of what we’ll do, and we have not made that decision yet,” he said.
If the intention is to launch a joint strategy in the region, “then Turkey is not a country that will be given an exam paper, but rather a country that will be discussed as an equal,” the prime minister said.
“We have our concerns, our national interests and priorities. We can sit down and discuss all these with them,” Davutoğlu said, adding that so far Ankara had always been engaged in such dialogue with U.S. officials. “In this sense, Kerry’s reported remarks are not on a sound ground with regard to his relations with us.”
“As our priority regarding the hostages has been met, now our point is to adopt a perception that will maintain peace and stability in the region. Having the fight against ISIL, against terrorist organizations in general, as a principle, we are right in asking to see the post-struggle [vision against ISIL] and seek a common ground on which the parameters of this [vision] will be maintained,” he said.
"[ISIL] should be cleared out, since these groups are a threat to all,” Davutoğlu said, but stressed that if this was achieved in a way that legitimized the Syrian government, then similar groups would inevitably emerge under different guises.
Elaborating on the Sept. 20 operation to release the Turkish hostages, Davutoğlu said the people used as intermediaries fit into a “grey zone,” such as a scholar of Turkmen origin and an esteemed tribal leader who are both respected by the militant group.
One of the militants who had sympathy for Turkey helped Ankara with information on the hostages, but he was killed by the group when revelations about his provision of information were revealed, Davutoğlu said.
hurriyetdailynews.com
23/9/14
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