ISTANBUL- Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has reiterated his country’s rejection of the idea of partitioning war-torn Syria.
In an interview with Saudi-funded Arabic-language daily Asharq al-Awsat, Kurtulmus said that the Syrian people should have the final say on the fate of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Syria has remained locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
“What is happening [in Syria] is a new Sykes-Picot agreement,” Kurtulmus said, referring to the secret agreement following World War I between Britain and France that defined their post-war spheres of influence in the Middle East.
He said certain powers sought to impose a “new phase” of the agreement aimed at partitioning some countries in the region.
“The main focus of some [powers] is to divide Islamic countries along sectarian and ethnic lines in an attempt to create more problems between ethnic groups,” he said.
He said certain parties were now speaking about dividing Syria into three distinct entities. “The fact is that Syria could be divided into 30 or 40 different parts,” he said.
Kurtulmus called for bringing Syria’s various ethnic and religious groups together. “Our main focus is to protect Syria as a unified state,” he asserted.
He said the Syrians could establish — through a peace process — a new regime in Syria. “But we have to maintain Syria’s territorial integrity,” he said.
He went on to urge different groups in Syria “to find the best way to participate in the search for a political solution” to the five-year-old conflict.

– Assad’s fate
Kurtulmus reiterated that the Syrian people should have the final say on the fate of the Assad regime.
“After five years of civil war and fierce bombardment of innocent civilians by the Syrian regime, we believe that the Syrians will not allow Assad to remain in power,” he said.
He added, however, that there could be a transitional period in Syria within the context of a peace process. “The future Syria should be free of terrorist organizations and members of the current regime,” he said.
According to UN figures, more than 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced since the Syrian conflict erupted in early 2011.
The Syrian regime and opposition groups are scheduled to begin UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva on Monday.
Kurtulmus warned that foreign intervention in Syria could lead to a regional war.
“World powers, particularly the U.S. and Russia, realize that the [Syrian] war has reached its maximum limits; this could give a fresh impetus to the peace process,” he said.
The Turkish deputy premier voiced optimism regarding the launch of a “genuine” peace process in Syria.
“At the end of the day, the key player in Syria is the Syrian people — not the major [political] powers,” he said.

Source: Saudi Gazette, 6 March 2016