Turkey cautiously welcomes Russian proposal on Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says, "Surrender of chemical weapons stockpile out of its own will would be a good development,"

Turkey cautiously welcomed a Russian plan to avert a US strike on Syria by securing a deal to destroy its chemical weapons but warned "massacres could escalate" if the plan intends to gain time for Damascus, Turkish media reported on Tuesday.

"Surrender of chemical weapons stockpile out of its own will would be a good development," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said late Monday in a televised interview.

However, he added "there is a serious crime here. It can't go unpunished," noting "a cosmetic method" should not mean "a huge crime" could be forgotten.

If this plan aims to "gain time for the regime, then it will pave way for further massacres," said Davutoglu.

On Aug. 21, the Syrian opposition claimed that some 1,300 people were killed in a chemical weapon attack by the government troops on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus, which the Syrian government strongly denied.