7th April, 2017
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday called for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as soon as possible, saying “a transitional government must be established.’’
Cavusoglu also called for the establishment of an interim government in Syria, adding “Turkey was informed of the U.S missile attacks on the Syrian airbase ahead of time’’.
“The U.S informed Turkey before it attacked a Syrian base at Friday dawn.
“U.S. Ambassador to Ankara John Bass contacted our (Foreign Ministry) Under-secretary Umit Yalcin.
“Information on the attack was also diffused through the coalition members fighting against the Islamic State (IS),’’ Cavusoglu said on Friday in Antalya.
Cavusoglu said he had spoken with the French and German foreign ministers on phone without specifying when.
He said contacts had been initiated with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
He said that safe zones for civilians in Syria were now more important than ever.