Parliament gives green light to Syrian cross-border raids

Turkey’s Parliament yesterday passed a government motion for a one-year mandate authorizing the military to use ground troops for cross-border military operations into Syria, after heated debates over the content of the motion and due to objections raised by the opposition to voting on such a significant motion in a closed-door session, Hurriyet Daily reported.

There were 449 deputies present in Parliament, and 320 voted in favor of the motion.
The quorum required to convene Parliament’s General Assembly is at least 184 lawmakers. If the item being voted on is not an exceptional constitutional provision, the majority of the votes of the lawmakers present is required to make a decision, but the quorum for a decision cannot be less than one-fourth of the members of Parliament, or 138 lawmakers.
Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay told reporters that Syria had admitted responsibility for the shelling, apparently referring to remarks by Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi, who offered his “sincerest condolences on behalf of the Syrian government to the families of the deceased and the Turkish people.”

Atalay also said that Syria has reassured the U.N. that “such an incident will not occur again.” Stressing that the motion was “not a war mandate,” Atalay said that it would have a deterrent effect.