Turkey should "prepare for war" while wishing peace: Turkish PM

ISTANBUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkey should be prepared for war if it wants to have peace, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Istanbul on Friday.

Addressing a gathering of more than 5,000 people, Erdogan said, "The saying goes: 'prepare for war if you wish for peace'...We are not war-lovers, but we are not far from war either."

Erdogan's comments came two days after Syrian artillery shells landed in Turkey's southeastern town of Akcakale, killing five Turks and wounding several others.

Although Turkey does not want a war, no initiative targeting Turkey's honor and prestige was left unanswered and will never be unanswered, noted the Turkish prime minister.

"It would be a deadly mistake to test Turkey's deterrence, determination and capacity," Erdogan said.

Turkish authorities said Turkish army has fired back at targets in Syria for a third straight day.

On Thursday, the Turkish Parliament passed a motion allowing the military to conduct cross-border raids into Syria.

Turkey, once an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but now a leading voice urging him to quit, shelters more than 90,000 Syrian refugees and has provided Syrian rebel army leaders with sanctuary.