Turkey wants to end Cold War in Middle East, FM says

MUNICH (A.A) - February 5, 2012 - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey wanted to end Cold War era in the Middle East. Davutoglu delivered a speech at a panel discussion "Building a New Middle East" within the scope of the 48th Munich Security Conference in Germany. Developments in Arab countries were a natural process of history, he said. Davutoglu said peace must be secured between Israel and Arab countries, stating that Turkey was eager to end Cold War era in the Middle East. Replying to a question on Iran, Davutoglu said a military operation would be a disaster for the region. If confidence was secured between parties, the problem could be solved in a short period of time, he said. Without confidence and political will, a solution could not be reached, he said. Davutoglu said that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and he visited Syria several times and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. After the talks did not yield positive outcomes, they worked with the Arab League on a resolution against Syria, he said, adding that the resolution was vetoed by Russia and China. Davutoglu said that Turkey, as a neighboring country, had moral responsibilities for protection of Syrian people. If needed, Turkey could host Syrian people escaping from pressure, he said and adding that it could be a powerful signal to Assad administration. Davutoglu said that a news story which claimed that Turkey held talks under NATO for a military intervention to Syria was baseless.