11 April 2016•Update: 14 April 2016
ANKARA
The spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the Syrian regime as being “insincere” over its contributions to UN-backed peace talks.
Speaking on Monday in Ankara, Ibrahim Kalin said the "continued military operation, attack and siege acts" across the country showed that the Syrian regime was "insincere in the peace and political transition process".
His remarks came after Kalin was asked by a correspondent if the Syrian government said it would carry out an inclusive operation in Aleppo with the support of Russia.
Kalin recalled that the next round of talks to ensure a political transition process in the war-torn country would resume in Geneva this week.
"However, we see that the regime and its supporters do insistently not want to engage in issues about … the political transition process.
"On one hand, you will reach an agreement with the support and contribution of all the international community so that 'clashes stop', but on the other hand, you will continue operations in Aleppo, Idlib and other areas on the pretext of 'we are fighting against Daesh'. It is not possible to accept it," Kalin said.
Potential refugee influx
Kalin said Ankara had concerns over a potential new refugee wave from Aleppo in case of a military campaign as the people fleeing the city regarded Turkey as "the closest shelter".
He said a fresh humanitarian drama and refugee crisis might emerge, which he said Turkey did not desire.
"Turkey's capacity and infrastructure are suitable for it [influx]. But this is not something we want. We hope developments in the field do not oblige such a consequence," Kalin added.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to the UN.
