US, Russia proxy war on Syria a ‘dangerous path’

Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş on Friday said the proxy war between the U.S. and Russia is a "dangerous path" to take.

Speaking at Istanbul Forum for Arab Journalists in Istanbul, Kurtulmuş said: "I am one of those who believe all problems, especially the Syrian problem, will be solved if the forces coming from the outside of the region stop to make calculations on the people of the region."

Kurtulmuş said the proxy war may lead to a "great war" in the world.

"Syria belongs to the people of Syria. The international community is obliged to start a democratic political process in which all the parties in Syria are involved," he said.

Kurtulmuş also said: "Our preference will be in the direction and aspect of a free decision of the people of Syria."

"But I would like to express that any solution imposed on the people of Syria will not be a solution and would not be accepted by Turkey," Kurtulmuş added.

Kurtulmuş went on to say that Turkey has developed close relations -- with ups and downs -- with the U.S. since the 1950s through NATO.

"Turkey's relations with Russia were also developed in the same way. They were sometimes good, sometimes tense. Just two-and-a-half years ago our relations were extremely tense due to the Russian plane crash. Today, we are cooperating in many fields, particularly in tourism and energy," he said

Kurtulmuş emphasized that the number one factor that determines the foreign policies of the countries is "national interests".

He said that the main difference between Turkey and some other countries' interests were that Turkey's foreign policy comes through "unity and solidarity" of the local communities while some other countries' come by "dividing, wrecking and scattering" local communities even more.