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UN Refugee Agency Head, Special Envoy Meet Senior Turkish Officials |
14 September 2012The head of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres and his special envoy actress Angelina Jolie met with senior Turkish officials in capital Ankara on Friday.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Guterres and Special Envoy Jolie first visited Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin at his office. The gathering was closed to press.
The two representatives later proceeded to the Turkish prime ministry headquarters to hold talks with Deputy Premier Besir Atalay.
Speaking during the visit, Atalay thanked the UNHCR delegation for visiting the camps where Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey currently stayed.
Naming the visit an important opportunity to draw the attention of the international community to the ongoing tragedy in Syria, Atalay thanked Guterres and Jolie for their positive comments about the camps in southern province of Kilis.
"We pursue an 'open doors' policy for the refugees coming from Syria and we don't send anybody back," he said.
The deputy premier said efforts were also exerted to offer education and health services for Syrians under the coordination and close cooperation of Turkey, relevant institutions and the UN.
Atalay also thanked Special Envoy Jolie in particular for her involvement in the issue as an "international profile" and for her humanitarian role.
Guterres, in his part, said that he was extremely grateful for Turkey's hospitality.
"The present phase is a much more exciting phase of cooperation between the government of Turkey and the UNHCR which started thanks to you," he said.
Pointing to the assistance Turkey provided to Syrians, Guterres said, "We are extremely grateful for what has been the very generous policy of Turkey of granting them protection, allowing them to cross the border and providing assistance that I could witness is an assistance of high standard."
He also thanked the officials in the camps who displayed efforts to guarantee the levels of assistance for Syrians who had experienced a dramatic situation back in their country.
"So my very deep appreciation for the work that has been done and we know this represents a huge challenge for Turkey. It is not only the impact of refugees themselves, this represents the rupture of important relations with a neighbor," he noted.
The high commissioner also said Turkey's "open doors" policy towards Syrians was important. |
14 September 2012
Anadolu Agency
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