Turkey urges allies to work together in Syria's Idlib

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday called on international allies to work together in Syria's Idlib with efforts to prevent civilian casualties.

"What we propose is very clear. Let's stop this civil war in Idlib. And if the concern is the presence of the terrorist groups, let's work together to eliminate them," Cavusoglu said during a joint news conference with his Romanian and Polish counterparts in Bucharest, capital of Romania.

Underscoring the necessity of preventing civilian casualties, he further called on Russia, Iran, the U.S., France and the U.K. as well as all other partners and actors in Syria to work together and find peaceful solution.

"I call on everybody to raise their voice and also stand against the aggression of regime in Syria and to find a peaceful solution," he added.

Also, Cavusoglu described the trilateral meeting as "fruitful", and said: "I benefited greatly from our exchange today, and [am] very grateful to our friends."

"As allies and strategic partners, we will continue our close dialogue and cooperation on these issues in trilateral format, also in other platforms," he added.

He further urged "full solidarity and support" from all allies against terrorist groups such as Daesh, PKK, PYD/YPG and FETO, without exception.

Cavusoglu paid a visit to Romania on Sept. 11 to participate in the fourth meeting of political-military consultations among the foreign ministers of Turkey, Romania and Poland.

During the consultations, the three ministers have evaluated the results of the NATO Brussels Summit and exchanged views on the current security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic region.