Turkey to Refrain From Intervening in Syria Until No-Fly Zone Established: Prime Minister

Topic: Violence Erupts as Islamic State Rises

Turkey will not intervene militarily into the Syrian crisis unless the international community obliges to establish a no-fly area and a buffer zone in the war-torn country, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday.

ANKARA, October 14 (RIA Novosti) – Turkey will not intervene militarily into the Syrian crisis unless the international community obliges to establish a no-fly area and a buffer zone in the war-torn country, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday.

"Unless the international community does what is needed, unless there are steps toward the resolution of the Syrian crisis on the whole, Turkey will not agree to any risky ventures, despite the pressure coming from certain nations," prime minister said at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party in the parliament.

He added that Turkey would facilitate the US-led military action against terrorism if the coalitionpromised to establish a buffer zone and a no-fly area in Syria.

Davutoglu also called the protests by Turkey's Kurdish population over the fighting in the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani near the Turkish border a "provocation".

"We guarantee public order in Turkey. We will buy five or 10 water cannons to replace each of those destroyed," he said.

On Monday, the Turkish foreign minister said that the country had not yet made a decision on whether the US-led coalition could use Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey for carrying out air raids against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq. The facility is already used by the US Air Force for logistical and humanitarian purposes.

Earlier in October, the Turkish parliament approved the use of military force in Iraq and Syria. According to the parliamentary decision, the Turkish army can be used in operations abroad within a year, while foreign militaries will be permitted to be stationed in the country.

Following the proclamation of an Islamic caliphate by the IS on the seized areas across Iraq and Syria, Washington and its allies have launched air raids against the militants. The jihadists have been besieging the Syrian city of Kobani, also known as Ayn-al-Arab, for several weeks, triggering a mass exodus of Syrian Kurdish refugees over the border into Turkey. Protests by Turkey's Kurdish population over Ankara's non-interference in the fight against the IS have turned violent, leaving 37 people dead, according to the authorities.