Turkey Joins France in Recognizing Syrian Rebel Coalition

Ahh, politics does make strange bedfellows.  Not so long ago Turkey fiercely disputed France for its assertion that, in fact, Ottoman troops in Turkey during WW I, committed deliberate extermination of the “alien” Armenians.  Diplomatic relations were barely breathing.

Now, France and Turkey are among the first countries to recognize the newly formed “National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.”  France is the first, and so far only, non Muslim country to do so.  The others are: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

In announcing its support Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, cited some of the raw facts of the on-going civil war in Syria

…more than 39,000 people had been killed, 2.5 million people had been displaced within Syria, and hundreds of thousands of refugees had fled to neighboring countries, including Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

In Turkey alone, he said, 120,000 Syrians are residing in camps, and nearly 70,000 others are living elsewhere in the country.

NY Times: Sednem Arsu

for more on Turkey by Sednem Arsu go here.

*

For absolutely chilling news about Assad’s chemical weapon stockpile, Nor Korean missile techs in Syria, Hezbollah training camps near chemical stores and anti-Assad contingency planning see  Sanger and Schmitt in the times.