CAIRO: Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr has sided with Turkey in its escalating row with Syria over cross-border incidents. Pressure on Syria's neighbors is likely to increase until there is a ceasefire and negotiations within Syria to end the civil war, Carr said in a statement on Saturday. He said more than 30,000 Syrians had died in the current conflict with the United Nations estimating more than two million others were in need of humanitarian care, while 300,000 Syrians were refugees in camps in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. In the latest incidents mortar fire from Syria has landed in Turkey, killing a number of Turkish citizens. “Turkey is right to express its grave concern at recent cross-border incidents and deserves Australia's support in this and in its efforts to assist Syrian refugees,” Carr said. He said he spoke with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu this week to pass on Australia's support for a peaceful solution to the ongoing border conflict. “I've visited Jordan and seen the refugee camps first-hand and spoken to the Lebanese Foreign Minister about the pressure on his country,” he said. “Until there's a ceasefire and negotiations in Syria, the pressures on its neighbors will grow more intense.” Carr said in September, Australia provided another A$4 million for Syrian medical aid, comprising an extra A$2 million for medical supplies and emergency food aid in Syria and an additional $2 million for food, shelter and health care in Syrian refugee camps in Jordan and other neighboring countries.
