Secretary General of the League of Arab States,
Distinguished Colleagues,
My Dear Syrian Brothers,
Distinguished Participants,


It is a great honor for me to be with the representatives of the friendly and brotherly Syrian people who aspire for a free and democratic Syria. I feel honored to salute you all.

I wish the mercy of Allah for our brothers that sacrificed their lives for a free and democratic Syria. I also salute and command our brothers and sisters that struggle for their honorable cause In Damascus, Hums, Haleppo, Hama, Idlip, Latakia, Daraa, Deyruzzor and other cities and towns of Syria.

On behalf of the friendly and brotherly Turkish people, who bond together with the Syrian people through historical, cultural and kinship ties, and who feel the suffering of the Syrian people in their hearts, I salute you all with all my dearest feelings.

Today is a day of hope for the Syrian people who suffer under the repression of the Assad regime.

Today will be inscribed in history as the day when the prominent representatives of the Syrian people have come together and taken a big leap forward to join their forces on the path towards a new Syria.

Distinguished Participants,

At a time when the situation in Syria aggravates every passing day with blood and tears at intolerable levels, we would like to extend our appreciation and thanks to the Arab League under the auspices of which this utterly important conference is being held.

It goes without saying that this success owes very much to the leadership and invaluable contributions of the Secretary General of the Arab League, my dear brother Nabil El-Arabi.

From the outset of the Syrian crisis, the Arab League has displayed an able leadership and an unwavering resolve, which well deserved our appreciation.

As a regional organization, the Arab League took the lead in efforts towards the ending the crisis in Syria. What brings the distinguished representatives of the Syrian opposition here today is indeed a result and extension of these efforts.

Turkey has emphasized from the outset that, in search for a solution to the Syrian crisis, regional ownership should take the lead. With this in mind, we have always supported the Arab League’s efforts for finding a solution. We have also tried our best to synchronize our steps with those of the Arab League.

I am confident that our cooperation and coordination with the Arab League has become a success also in bringing together the diverse segments of the Syrian opposition. The opposition meeting which we hosted in Istanbul on 26-27 March with the participation of a wide range of opposition groups resulted in the adoption of the “National Covenant” which laid out a common vision for the future of Syria. Another opposition meeting hosted by Turkey in Istanbul on 15-16 June established a preparatory committee which, I am happy to note, hasworked quite efficiently for the organization of today’s conference.

My Dear Syrian Brothers and Sisters,

What Syria undergoes today is the result of the retaliation of a despotic regime by weapons, guns, tanks and indiscriminate mass atrocities in response to the legitimate demands of the people.

The Syrian regime tries nothing but to reverse the course of history. This is an effort in futility. There has been no example of repression triumphing over the will of the people. The Assad regime’s guns, tanks, weapons have no meaning in the face of the will of the people. Sooner or later, the will of the Syrian people shall reign supreme. History is replete with striking stories of tyrants who built their power on fear.

Turkey’s policy vis-à-vis Syria has been very clear. Right from the outset, Turkey has sided with the Syrian people who have been struggling for their legitimate demands. We have the resolve to continue this policy.

Months before the outbreak of the events in March last year, we warned the Syrian Administration when the Arab Spring has first emerged with the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia. We underlined that Syria could not remain immune to the approaching wave of democratization. We repeatedly urged the Syrian Administration to heed the voice of the people and to meet their legitimate demands.

Neither the commitments made to us nor the promises given to the people were ever delivered. The regime believed that it could run over the will of the people with its tanks and guns, and that it could hold on to power through repression and fear. We all have witnessed where these dead-end policies with no chance of success have led Syria and its people, and to what unspeakable pains they have caused.

A regime which has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of its people cannot claim any legitimacy from the international community, including Turkey. As a responsible and friendly neighboring country, Turkey has made tremendous effort to divert the Syrian Administration to the right path. That is why our conscience is absolutely clear. What we now have in front of us is a regime that has strayed so far away from a basic sense of rationality. The only interlocutor for Turkey in Syria is now the Syrian people and their representatives, that is, the Syrian opposition.

My Dear Syrian Brothers and Sisters,

We have always believed that the future of Syria belongs to the Syrian people and that it will be shaped by the Syrian people. We have never thought otherwise. We have supported and worked towards the unification of the people around a common vision for Syria so that they could be the owners of their own future.

We have underlined that the Syrian crisis could not come to an end unless a credible transition process is set in motion on the basis of the legitimate demands of the people. We have also said that theengagement of the Syrian opposition in such a transition process as a strong stakeholder unified around a single cause is key to the success of this process. This is because it will be the Syrian opposition which will constitute the backbone of a democratic order aspired for by the Syrian people.

Motivated by this belief, we have kept our doors wide open to all Syrian people and Syrian opposition groups. Our open door policy will continue. We will continue to receive our brothers and sisters as our guests, not as refugees. Today we have more 35.000 Syrian friends as our guests in Turkey. We will share with them our homes and our food. We never turned down any group which wanted to reach us. We treated them all equally. We did not and will not favor one over another. Ethnic or sectarian discrimination was never an issue for us. We listened to you. We asked how we could help you in your rightful struggle. We gave the same message to all opposition groups we talked to: “Join your forces with other groups around a common vision for Syria and be the owners of your country’s future.” We cautioned that a weak and disorganized opposition could only work to the benefit of the regime.

My Dear Syrian Brothers and Sisters,

As representatives of the Syrian people, you are the ones who will transform Syria. Turkey's interlocutor in Syria is the Syrian people and its opposition. It is the Syrian people who will set the course for and determine Syria’s future. You are not only a delegation representing different beliefs and ideologies of the Syrian people. You are the wisemen and women to establish new and free democratic Syria.

There surely will be different points of view among yourselves. This is totally normal. But the cause is one. This is exactly what not to miss. The expectation of the Syrian people from you is to deliver a strong message of unity. I wholeheartedly believe that you will succeed in doing so today in Cairo.

If you can deliver a message of unity, today you will certainly be rewarded. If not, you may have to face the consequences of such failure.

For us, every single one of you is a respectable patriot of Syria. You have to continue to work to advance the cause. You should not let this struggle be defeated by political disagreements or personal agendas. You should always bear in mind that such failure would only come with an inexcusably high cost.

The process you are about to embark upon is not an easy one. It requiresendurance and patience. Key to success in this struggle would entail skillful work.

As friends of the Syrian people, we are working for paving the way forward for you. We are always ready to assist you, to serve you. That said, you are the ones who will set the course. Final decisions will always be up to you, the Syrian people.

The Syrian people need hope and confidence in future. You will be the ones who will be their light of hope and source of confidence.

Distinguished Brothers and Sisters,

Neither Turkey nor the other members of the international community have any tolerance left for the continuation of the current situation in Syria. In the face of the deeply wounded conscience of the humanity, all divergent views within the international community are meaningless.

In this vein, we regard last Saturday’s meeting in Geneva as a timely and meaningful gathering.

The Agreement in Geneva based on the 6 points plan has endorsed that the belief in the inevitability of launching a transition process for political change in Syria is now shared unequivocally by the entire international community. For Turkey, the result of Geneva is clear and self-evident. There will be a transition and change in Syria. It is inevitable and there will be a new Administration and a democratic regime in Syria eventually. It must be clear that only the Syrian people are to decide about the future of any agreement on their own country. What fallsupon the international community is to provide all support for the successful conduct of this process on the basis of the people’s legitimate demands and to prevent its derailment or failure.

The success of this process should be measured by to what extent the people’s legitimate demands are met. At this critical juncture, it is a pressing need for the Syrian opposition to engage in this transition process as a strong actor speaking with one voice and claiming for the ownership of Syria’s future. At the same time, the Friends of Syrian People meeting will be held in Paris on the 6th of july with participation of around 100 nations and international organizations. The strong message of unity and the vision for new Syria that you will provide here will ensure that you will be treated and supported by all these countriesin Paris this Friday.

Only if this can be done, will the Syrian people be able to look to the future with hope and confidence with respect to the success of this process. In this vein, you have an honorable duty which is, at the same time, just as much difficult. The Syrian people will not tolerate a failure in this endeavor. That said, you will have our full confidence in the successful accomplishment of this mission.

As you execute this mission, you will always have right by your side the support of the Turkish Government and the brotherly Turkish people. For us, the well-being of the Syrian people is a moral and conscientious obligation towards a brotherly neighboring nation.

The aspiration for a stable and prosperous Syria with a restored reputable standing in the international community not only belongs to the Syrian people alone, but also is equally shared by the Turkish people.

Distinguished Participants,

In the presence of my dear brother Nabil El-Arabi, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to the Arab League for its efforts to bring together the Syrian opposition.

As I conclude my words, I would also like to wish all the success to my Syrian brothers in the challenging task that awaits them.

I hope you will meet in Damascus with the same spirit.

Thank you.