Premier slams Syrian regime’s Eastern Ghouta chemical attack as ‘barbarity’

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Monday slammed an attack by the Bashar al-Assad regime targeting the Douma district of Syria’s Eastern Ghouta which killed at least 78 civilians. The White Helmets civil defense agency says that poison gas appears to have been used in the deadly attack.

“Barbarity is unacceptable,” Yıldırım said.

He added that the opposition groups leaving Eastern Ghouta were settling in al-Bab, where Turkey successfully cleared of terror elements as part of Operation Euphrates Shield.

The premier said that in the past year, there had been 146,000 entries to Turkey from its eastern border, and that 50,000 of those migrants were from Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan has begun to implement a comprehensive and resolute policy to end terrorism. Many operations are being conducted. This triggers migration. We are sending back those who are involved in terrorism, and taking measures to improve the lives of those who do not return to their home countries. We will establish a camp in Iğdır. It is a camp for those who come through Iran,” said Yıldırım.

Yıldırım described the Trump administration's trade dispute with Beijing as a “big fight.” The premier stated that the dispute also affected Turkey.

“The [Turkish] president told U.S. President Trump in their recent discussion that the terms were not fair, and that Turkey should be exempted from the tariffs, just as some other countries have been. Trump said that he would deal with it. God willing, a positive step regarding this matter will be taken in the near future,” Yıldırım said.

The premier slammed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for requesting that Turkey release two Greek soldiers detained on Turkish territory in March, noting that Greece had become a refuge for putschists involved in the defeated 2016 coup. The rhetoric between the two countries has soured in recent years, particularly since eight Turkish soldiers fled to Greece in the wake of the failed coup.

“Why doesn’t he [Tsipras] touch on that matter? They carried out a coup in Turkey. They killed people and harmed the country. Now those [Greek] soldiers are being tried. The judiciary will do what is necessary. We cannot intervene in the judicial process,” Yıldırım said.

The July 15, 2016 coup was perpetrated by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) which has killed at least 249 people in the failed attempt.

Greece has said its two soldiers crossed into Turkey by mistake while on foot patrol in bad weather. Turkish courts have ordered their detention on suspicion of illegal entry and attempted military espionage.