ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey was "ready to be involved in a coalition" in case of a probable action against Syria.
Erdogan spoke at Esenboga Airport in the capital city of Ankara before leaving for St. Petersburg, Russia to attend a G-20 summit to be held on Thursday.
In response to a question on Turkey's position in case of a probable operation in Syria, Erdogan said, "Conditions will determine the [position]. We've said that we are ready now to be involved in a coalition."
The official agenda of the G-20 summit is the world economy, but the real agenda is expected to focus on the probable intervention in Syria.
The gathering will come after US President Barack Obama has called for punitive action in response to an alleged chemical weapon attack near Damascus.
On Tuesday evening, members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed on a draft resolution backing the use of US military force.
Erdogan mentioned Russia's stance on Syria by saying, "It is interesting that Putin has changed his stance on Syria and has become in favour of military intervention against Syria in case that chemical weapons were used, despite having been against military intervention in Syria in all other cases."
In an interview with the Associated Press and Russia's state Channel 1 television, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would "be ready to act in the most decisive and serious way" if there was clear proof of what weapons had been used and who had used them.
According to US figures, 1,429 Syrian civilians, including 426 children were killed during a chemical attack on August 21.
More than 100,000 people are thought to have died since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011.
The Turkish premier stated, "Whatever weapon you use in an attack resulting in death, it is a crime. It is a crime against humanity. So you bomb with planes and helicopters, shoot with snipers and use tanks, and it is not considered as crime, but when you use chemical weapons, it is considered as a crime. The question should be asked: is the killing once not a crime? Killing is a crime."
In an interview with French daily Le Figaro on Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had warned that an attack on his country could set off a “regional war."
"Turkey is ready for such a thing everytime, but I don't know if Syria is ready for it," Erdogan said.
The Turkish premier also said that he would meet with US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
- "Istanbul deserves Olympics": Turkish PM
Erdogan also said that Istanbul deserved to have a privilage over Tokyo and Madrid in hosting the 2020 Olympics.
Speaking to journalists at Ankara Esenboga Airport before departing for St. Petersburgh for the G-20 summit, Erdogan said, "We would like to host the 2020 Olympics very much."
Erdogan added that a high-level delegation from Turkey would attend the Olympics Committee Meeting in Buenos Aires on September 6-7 to emphasize the importance which Turkey attributed to the international games.
Noting Turkey's decisiveness in organizing the Olympics in the best way possible, Erdogan said, "Istanbul, with its rising organization experience, developing economy, geographical position and young population, has the potential to organize a unique and succesful olympics."
englishnews@aa.com.tr
