Arinc defends Turkey's position on Egypt, Syria

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc defended on Thursday Turkey's position on Egypt and Syria in his interview with Asharq Al-Awsat. "We've supported the elected president in Egypt. We would also support Ahmed Shafik and Omar Suleiman, if they were elected president and if they were deposed," Arinc told. "Morsi (deposed Egyptian president) should have been discharged from his office by elections not by coup. We've taken sides with democratic principles, not with Muslim Brotherhood," he added. Egypt's first democratically elected leader Mohammed Morsi had been overthrown by the country's armed forces on July 3. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister also touched upon the crisis in Syria saying, "When Bashar al-Assad used weapons against his people, we fell out with him. We are in Syrian people's side." Since uprising began in 2011, more than 100,000 people were killed in Syria. A further 1.7 million Syrians have been forced to seek shelter in neighbouring countries.