No solution in Syria crisis without Turkey, says Davutoglu. "The PYD will not pass to the west of the Euphrates"

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said late on Monday that the Syria crisis cannot be resolved without Turkey.

"Can the Syrian question be resolved with an equation in which Turkey does not figure? Is there a formula for progress that does not include Turkey?" asked Davutoglu in a live broadcast on A Haber and ATV channels.

The prime minister's remarks came as a response to allegations in the media that said "Russia, the U.S. and Iran are seeking a solution for the conflict in Syria, but not Turkey".

He said Bashar al-Assad would control all of Syria today if the formula under discussion were to be developed further, and added: "It cannot go further, because Turkey cannot leave the fate of its 911-kilometer border to other countries."

Reiterating Turkey's sensitivity about border security, Davutoglu said this issue was brought to the attention of both Russia and the U.S.

"We said the [Democratic Union Party] PYD cannot move to the west of Firat (Euphrates). If it moves, we will hit it. We have already hit it two times. We said that Turkey's borders may not be breached," said Davutoglu.

"Those who say this [that Turkey is not involved] do not know that our foreign minister launched a quadruple mechanism of Turkey, Russia, U.S. and Iran in Vienna, and that the minister has gone to Paris to discuss it as well," said Davutoglu.

He said the meeting in Paris would be among foreign ministers of the nine countries that are members of the Syria's Friends Group.

Turkish forces shot down a Syrian warplane for entering its airspace on March 23, 2014 and shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) inside Turkish territory on Oct. 16.

At least 250,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, with 7.6 million internally displaced and over four million having fled to nearby countries. 
  www.aa.com.tr
27/10/15
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• Turkey hits PYD twice for crossing Euphrates: PM...

The Turkish army has hit the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria twice for violating the red line Turkey had imposed on the western part of the Euphrates River, the Turkish prime minister has said.

“We have said ‘The PYD will not pass to the west of the Euphrates. We’ll hit them if they do.’ And we did hit them twice. A Syrian helicopter was downed last year. An unmanned aerial vehicle was hit as well. It’s not possible to do anything in Syria despite Turkey,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told private broadcaster A Haber late Oct 26.

Turkey considers the PYD an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and therefore as a terrorist organization, unlike the United States and the European Union which see them as a political organization that can cooperate with the anti-ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) coalition. Turkey had declared the PYD’s attempt to cross the river and link its cantons in northern Syria was a red line.

Davutoğlu recalled the PYD and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had agreed to conspire against Turkey in a meeting on May 28, which was also an indication the PKK decided to cease the Kurdish solution process.

“They should better know this: Afterwards, those in this region who will be on Turkey’s side will win while those who are against Turkey will lose. Everyone should make [their] own calculations accordingly,” he stressed.

“Turkey has not laid all of its cards on the table yet. The picture will be different when it does so. Everyone should watch its steps,” he added.

Davutoğlu said Turkey hit 458 different PKK positions in three days while clearing the Turkish border from ISIL shelters, also in three days, saying, “Those who start such a war against Turkey will bear the consequences.”

The Turkish prime minister also said Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu went to Paris to attend a meeting on Syria before the reunion of key countries in Vienna seeking a formula to end the Syria crisis on Oct. 23...............http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-hits-pyd-twice-for-crossing-euphrates-pm.aspx?pageID=238&nID=90385&NewsCatID=352
27/10/15