Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey met with Guido Westerwelle, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany on August 21, 2013 in Berlin. At the meeting, views were exchanged mainly on the developments in the Middle East, in particular in Egypt and Syria.

Speaking at the joint press conference Foreign Minister Davutoğlu stressed that the Middle East is going through a historical process and added that as a principle, international community should stand by the people of the Middle East in their democratic aspirations.

Referring to the news that chemical weapons have been used in some parts of Damascus in Syria, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu emphasized that the UN mission must immediately go to the region and must start its investigation. “Facing a crime against humanity, the international community in due respect for the people of the Middle East should adopt the same attitude towards the developments in Syria, like the attitude adopted in the past for the Eastern Europe. If it is tolerated, we can face with large-scale tragedies in future” said Foreign Minister Davutoğlu.

Foreign Minister Davutoğlu stated that international community has lost its deterrence in Syria, adding that although all red lines were crossed, still it is not possible to reach a consensus in the UN. Noting that clear sanctions were not imposed on the Syrian regime, so that a high threshold like use of chemical weapons is identified as red line, “Turkey urges the international community, the UN and all the related institutions to act immediately and to take steps for the implementation of all sanctions on Syria by concluding the necessary investigation.” said Foreign Minister Davutoğlu.

Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said that as in Syria, inconsistent messages of the international community have paved the way for the massacre of hundreds in Egypt. Pointing out the importance of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting where the situation in Egypt was reviewed Foreign Minister Davutoğlu emphasized that Turkey and the EU should work together on the basis of the common European values such as human rights, right to peaceful protest, respect for free elections, that election results can only be changed by people, that election results cannot be annulled by military.