TURKEY: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan says those who "attempt to test Turkey" are making a "fatal mistake"

Record ID: 217863

  • Title: TURKEY: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan says those who "attempt to test Turkey" are making a "fatal mistake"
  • Date: 6th October 2012
  • Summary: TEL ABYAD, SYRIA (AS SEEN FROM TURKEY) (OCTOBER 5, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SMOKE RISING ABOVE THE TREES MOTORCYLE PASSING BY SYRIAN OPPOSITION FLAG FLYING
  • Embargoed: 21st October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1W415H7JNW3RHI1TNA6NDBCIS
  • Story Text: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday (October 5) his country was "not far" from war with Syria following cross-border attacks this week - words which highlighted the danger that the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Asaad will drag in its neighbours.
    In a belligerent speech to a crowd in Istanbul, Erdogan warned the Assad government it would be making a fatal mistake if it picked a fight with Turkey.
    "We are not interested in war, but we're not far from it either," Erdogan said.
    "Those who attempt to test Turkey's deterrence, its decisiveness, its capacity, I say here they are making a fatal mistake."
    The speech followed a Syrian mortar barrage on a town in southeast Turkey that killed five people on Tuesday.
    Turkish artillery bombarded Syrian military targets on Wednesday and Thursday in response, killing several Syrian soldiers, and the Turkish parliament has authorised cross-border military action in the event of further aggression.
    At the United Nations, the Security Council condemned the original Syrian attack and demanded that such violations of international law stop immediately.
    The United States has said it stands by its NATO ally's right to defend itself against aggression spilling over from Syria's war.
    The cross-border violence was the most serious so far in the conflict, now in its 19th month, and underscored how it could flare across the region.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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