La Syrie frappera la Turquie si celle-ci se joint à l'opération américaine

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad threatened Turkey as well as other US allies in the region with retaliation if they ever joined a US-led operation against Syria.

The United States is considering launching a punitive strike against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, blamed by the US and the Syrian opposition for an Aug. 21 alleged chemical weapons attack in an opposition-held suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The US has said a sarin gas attack killed 1,429 people, including more than 400 children, based on intelligence reports.

Mekdad told The Wall Street Journal in an interview in Damascus that the Syrian government hopes the American representatives will exercise wisdom, will listen to the voice of justice, not to provocative actions, referring to US President Barack Obama’s decision to seek congressional authorization for the use of force against Syria in a vote expected after Congress returns to work Sept. 9.

Mekdad warned against regional repercussions of the Syria intervention, threatening that it will strike back at Turkey along with Israel and Jordan if these US allies join US-led intervention.

"Once the war starts nobody can control what will happen," he said, adding that the Syrian government believes that any attack against Syria will definitely result in chaos in the entire region if not beyond.

He noted that if Congress approves Obama’s Syrian plan, it would be "a tragedy against the Syrian people and the American people and all people in the region."

Mekdad stated that Jordan and Turkey should think twice before participating in the US-led operation against Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Wednesday that Turkey would take part in any international coalition against Syria, but stopped short of saying whether that would include military action.

"We have said that we are ready to take part in any kind of coalition and we perceive this as a coalition of volunteers," Erdogan said in Ankara.