UN Security Council members don’t pay price of crisis in Syria and Iraq: Turkish PM

ANKARA

AP photo

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has reiterated his criticism towards United Nations Security Council permanent member states of being irrelevant to the crisis in Syria and Iraq, stressing it was the neighboring countries of Iraq and Syria which have paid the price of those crises. 

Speaking at the W-20 Conference on Sept. 6, Davutoğlu recalled the photograph of drowned Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, who died off the Turkish coast fleeing heavy fighting between Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants and Syrian Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

The family was able to hold their funerals in Syria with the help of Turkish authorities, he said.

Kurdi drowned after the boat ferrying him from the southwestern Turkish beach resort of Bodrum to the Greek island of Kos capsized shortly before dawn on Sept. 2, killing 12 passengers.

“But who is responsible?” Davutoğlu asked, stressing Syrian refugees were seen in Europe as criminals just because the U.N. Security Council could not take the necessary decisions in time.

“The five permanent member states of the U.N. Security Council are the authority for a decision. We respect these five states individually, but they don’t pay the price for incidents happening in Syria and Iraq. We, as the neighbors of Syria, are paying this price,” he stated.

Neighboring countries had to set up refugee camps, but it is the U.N. who decides, Davutoğlu said, adding they should find a comprehensive solution processes for these crises. 

Some ministers from G-20 countries were questioning ways to block Syrian refugees from entering Europe, he said, adding the crisis should be resolved and refugees should be helped so they could stay in their homelands instead of going Europe.

“If your economy is flourishing, while others’ are poor, you cannot feel safe,” Davutoğlu said.

Meanwhile, the prime minister cited a 42-percent increase in the number of female entrepreneurs and therefore the country was not suffering from the side effects of economic crisis. An economic system which paves easy access for women should be designed, he added.