Turkey determined to defend Syrian territorial integrity: FM Çavuşoğlu

Turkey will continue to defend Syria's territorial integrity and protect the civilians in the war-torn country, the Turkish foreign minister said in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday.

"Turkey will continue to defend Syria's territorial integrity, protect civilians, and fight terror groups," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in a trilateral meeting of Turkish, Qatari, and Russian foreign ministers.

Çavuşoğlu said the ministers discussed how to contribute to long-lasting peace in Syria.

Underlining that the legitimate demands of the civilians were ignored, he said Syrians have been exposed to negative impacts of the conflict for over a decade.

Çavuşoğlu also thanked his Qatari counterpart and the country for the initiative.

For his part, Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he discussed with his Turkish and Russian counterparts the "humanitarian situation in Syria and facilitating the delivery of aid."

"We stressed the unity of the Syrian territories and rejected a military solution to the crisis," Al Thani said.

Also stressing the importance of the Syrian crisis for Qatar and the humanitarian role of Doha, he added: "There is no need to have a military presence in Syria and we support the unity of its Arab lands."

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Over the past 10 years, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN officials.