Turkish and US officials have begun their first "operational planning" meeting aimed at bringing about the demise of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime, as heavy fighting continued in Damascus and Aleppo.
A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad burns during clashes between rebels and Syrian troops in the city center of Selehattin, near Aleppo Photo: BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
10:24AM BST 23 Aug 2012
The Telegraph
The meeting is expected to coordinate military, intelligence and political responses to the crisis in Syria where a deadly crackdown on peaceful protests that began in March 2011 has according to activists claimed more than 23,000 lives.
The officials are also due to discuss contingency plans in the case of potential threats including a chemical attack by the regime in Damascus which Washington has called a "red line".
Turkish foreign ministry deputy under-secretary Halit Cevik and US ambassador Elisabeth Jones are leading the delegations made up of intelligence agents, military officials and diplomats at the meeting in Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced their plans for such a mechanism to hasten the end of President Bashar al-Assad's regime on August 11.
Related Articles
_ Syrian army tanks open fire on Damascus streets - 23 Aug 2012
_ Syrian forces pound rebel positions in Damascus - 23 Aug 2012
_ Britain and US warn Syria over chemical weapons - 23 Aug 2012
_ Ghost town that points silently to Syria's future - 22 Aug 2012
_ Syria: major clashes in Damascus - 22 Aug 2012
The meeting comes after David Cameron and President Barack Obama warned Syria that any movement or usage of its chemical weapons would change their perspective on how to respond to the conflict.
A chemical attack would also trigger a refugee influx to neighbouring countries including Turkey which has already received more than 70,000 Syrians.
On Monday, Mr Davutoglu said Turkey can handle no more than 100,000 Syrian refugees and has proposed setting up a UN buffer zone inside Syria to shelter them.
The exodus of refugees to Turkey has intensified recently as a result of a Syrian army offensive and fighting in the northern city of Aleppo between regime forces and rebels.
The growing flow of refugees has raised fears of a repeat of the 1991 Gulf War, when half a million Iraqi Kurds massed along the common border.
The threat of armed groups including the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and al-Qaeda which could exploit a power vacuum in Syria is also expected to figure high on the agenda of the Ankara meeting.
In Istanbul, Mrs Clinton had said she shared "Turkey's determination that Syria must not become a haven for PKK terorrists whether now or after the departure of the Assad regime".
Source: AFP
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
24082012
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
No comments:
Post a Comment