Spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry Levent Gumrukcu stated that Turkey would welcome Russia's offer which would place Syrian chemical weapons under international control, but added, "This offer will on no account remove Syrian responsibility of the prior use of chemical weapons."
Gumrukcu replied to questions during the press conference at the ministry. Upon a question about the offer made by Russia, Gumrukcu noted that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had previously made a statement about the issue.
Gumrukcu also said, "Set using chemical weapons to the side, even having them is a crime. That a country places the weapons under international control and their being annihilated later is a positive development of itself. Turkey welcomes this offer, but the key issue here is how sure and hopeful we are about this issue, considering the actions of Assad regime in Syria so far."
Pointing out that the use of chemical weapons in Syria should not be left unanswered, Gumrukcu added, "the use of chemical weapons is a crime against humanity and is the severest violation of international law. We know that the Assad regime also used chemical weapons before August 21, 2013 and those responsible should be punished. That's why the new process which will start should not remove the obligation of accounting for what happened in Syria."
Expressing that Turkey criticized the UN Security Council as it did not make any decisions over the Syrian issue which has lasted for 2.5 years and constituted a danger for international and regional peace and security, Gumrukcu said that Turkey expected the Council to fulfill all its responsibilities by acting in unity.
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