Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a gathering in Istanbul on Oct. 5, 2012. Turkey should be prepared for war if it wants to have peace, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Istanbul on Friday. Erdogan's comments came two days after Syrian artillery shells landed in Turkey's southeastern town of Akcakale, killing five Turks and wounding several others. (Xinhua/Ma Yan)
ISTANBUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkey should be prepared for war if it wants to have peace, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Istanbul on Friday.
Addressing a gathering of more than 5,000 people, Erdogan said, "The saying goes: 'prepare for war if you wish for peace'...We are not war-lovers, but we are not far from war either."
Erdogan's comments came two days after Syrian artillery shells landed in Turkey's southeastern town of Akcakale, killing five Turks and wounding several others.
Although Turkey does not want a war, no initiative targeting Turkey's honor and prestige was left unanswered and will never be unanswered, noted the Turkish prime minister.
"It would be a deadly mistake to test Turkey's deterrence, determination and capacity," Erdogan said.
Turkish authorities said Turkish army has fired back at targets in Syria for a third straight day.
On Thursday, the Turkish Parliament passed a motion allowing the military to conduct cross-border raids into Syria.
Turkey, once an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but now a leading voice urging him to quit, shelters more than 90,000 Syrian refugees and has provided Syrian rebel army leaders with sanctuary.
ANKARA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish army fired back at targets in Syria for a third straight day after a Syrian mortar shell fell in a non-residential area in southern Turkish province of Hatay amid cross-border attacks, Turkish NTV news channel reported on Friday.
The mortar shell fell in Asagipulluyazi village of Yayladagi town in Hatay, 50 meters away from the Syrian border. Turkish army immediately "fired back at targets" within Syria, but did not cause any casualties, Hatay Governor Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz was quoted as saying. Full story
ISTANBUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is reinforcing its position in the Mediterranean Sea in a bid to put more pressure on the Syrian government following the escalation of tensions along the border, a report said here on Friday.
Daily News reported that a number of warships and submarines have been sent to the country's bases in the Mediterranean from its northwestern province of Golcuk, where the Turkish Naval Forces' main base is located. Full story
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