Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said Turkey has mobilized all its resources to build peace in the region but that it is also ready for war, with all its means at its disposal.
Speaking to Turkey's ambassadors serving abroad who were in the country to attend the 5th Annual Ambassadors' Conference in Ankara, the prime minister said Turkey will not remain indifferent to what is happening in Syria.
The protracted Syrian conflict constituted the main theme of his speech. Erdogan said Turkey prefers peace and is doing its best to preserve peace. But, he said, Turkey is ready to pay any cost to preserve that peace and is therefore even ready for war.
Noting that the number of refugees who had fled war-torn Syria and sought shelter in Turkey has exceeded 150,000, Erdogan said it takes more energy to keep the peace than to go to war.
"War is the easiest option, while keeping the peace is difficult. We prefer the harder option here, to ensure peace rather than to go to war. We will pay any price to preserve the state of peace [in our lands], and we have already paid a heavy one," the prime minister said.
He stated that Turkey is ready for war and that it will not hesitate to defend its territory while seeking to preserve peace up until the very last minute.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment