Turkish PM: Coalition of willing may decide on Syrian operation

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan returned from the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg on his way to Argentina to attend the presentation organized for Istanbul in the competition for the city which will host the 2020 Olympics. Referring to the general issues handled at the G20 Summit, Erdogan stated that the leaders had discussed the chemical weapons attack in Syria. Stating that there has not yet been any decision on an operation, Erdogan said that since there is no UN decision, an international joint operation cannot be conducted but a coalition of willing states may decide about the an operation. Saying that Russia is hesitant regarding documents proving the chemical weapons attack and that the Assad regime mounted the attack, Erdogan said, "Everyone agrees that chemical weapons were used in Syria but the disagreement is on who used it, and UN reports are important in this context." Touching upon opposition to Turkey's efforts and potential role in an operation on Syria, Erdogan said, "We are not obsessed with war. A fire has started in our neighborhood. We are the first place to be hit by it. We need to extinguish this fire. The biggest threat awaiting Syria is a war of sects."