Safe zone key in Syria, says Turkish vice president

ISTANBUL

As the wave of Syrian migrants to Turkey has grown amid turmoil in the region, establishing a safe zone is key, Turkey's vice president said Friday.

"To prevent a migration wave, a safe zone over there is important,” said Fuat Oktay.

“We consistently want a land in their own territory where Syrians living in Turkey can return to and those who were displaced in Syria can go."

Oktay spoke after Friday prayers in Istanbul, to the public about how as a neighbor country, Turkey is working to find a solution for the problems in Syria with the work of a Constitutional Commission.

"Let the parties, including the current regime, come together and sit at the table.

"They should compromise on a new Constitutional Commission and the country will be self-governing and protect its borders with this constitution," Oktay said.

He said Turkey has no eye on anyone’s borders or wealth but will not allow a threat along its border.

Oktay also stated that Turkey made a deal with Libya on the exclusive economic zone where the maritime borders overlap and the two countries can act in accordance in all sorts of underground resources.

He stated this was not an new act but done on the conduct of the UN as Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj is recognized by the UN.

"They signed it, we signed it and registered it in the UN.

"We have registered our rights in our own marine area within UN," Oktay said.

After the emergence of gas and petrol in Cyprus, Oktay emphasized that Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) activities in the region were tried to be held.

He noted that Yavuz and Fatih drilling vessels' activities bothered countries such as U.S., Greece, Israel, Egypt and the EU.

Over 1 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks in the last year.

According to the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the Idlib province is home to 3 million civilians, 75% of them women and children.

Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in 3.7 million Syrians who fled their country, making Turkey the world’s top refugee-hosting country.

Ankara has spent $40 billion on refugees, according to official figures.

On Jan. 2, the Turkish parliament ratified a motion authorizing the government to send troops to Libya following deals on military cooperation and maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean that were struck between Ankara and the Government of National Accord on Nov. 27.

The agreements were a response to attempts to sideline Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the Eastern Mediterranean, the ministry said, adding that the five-party meeting's statements revealed the merit of Turkey's steps in the region.

It further underlined that Ankara had a say in projects that involved it, as it possessed the longest coastline in the Mediterranean, and that it was prepared to cooperate with all countries in the region except the Greek Cypriot administration.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit