Syria slams Turkey for training 'terrorists'

A Syrian deputy foreign minister slammed Turkey on Friday for training and facilitating the passage of "terrorists," according to a television interview given during a summit of non-aligned states in Iran. Turkey had a particularly "destructive role" in the conflict, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad told Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television. "Turkey nowadays trains and allows in terrorists, allows in al-Qaida. Most of the terrorists in Syria come from Turkey," he said. "This needs to be tackled, because if Turkey does not respond to this issue then Turkey should be put on the list of nations supporting terrorism." Muqdad said Ankara's policies on Syria ran contrary to its own interests, "and we ask the Turkish government to come to its senses." He did not elaborate on reports that Syrian officials gave U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, also in Tehran for the summit, a list of countries -- including Turkey and Gulf Arab nations -- that they consider to be actively meddling in Syria. But he said: "We warn everyone... the situation is Syria will reflect on them, the situation will endanger the region and threaten stability in the Middle East."