President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the PKK/YPG terrorists in Syria will either dissolve themselves or ultimately be destroyed, as he said there is no place for terrorism in Syria.
Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara, Erdoğan said there is no future for the PKK’s Syrian offshoot YPG in Syria, as the country tries to rise from the ashes following the ouster of Bashar Assad’s autocratic rule.
“A brand new era has begun in Syria. As the neighbor and brother of Syria, we are the country that had the best analysis of the process,” Erdoğan said, adding that Türkiye has stood on the right side of history. He continued by saying that Ankara is in close dialogue with the new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, as he highlighted the importance of Syria’s stability:
“The stability of Syria is a source of security for the region as a whole. All neighbors should know this,” he said.
He noted that Türkiye is determined to continue its counterterrorism operations in Syria with precision, preventing any harm to civilians.
Türkiye regards the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which fought the Turkish state in a four-decade terror campaign and is classified as a terrorist group by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.
In recent years, Türkiye has deployed troops and worked with local allies such as the opposition Syrian National Army (SNA) to prevent the YPG advance in the region and keep locals safe from terrorist oppression.
The SNA currently has the group cornered in northern Syria after taking back Tal Rifaat and Manbij, two key strongholds, from the PKK/YPG earlier this month, while anti-regime forces led their lightning offensive against Bashar Assad earlier this month.
Erdoğan also criticized Israel’s growing aggression in Syria, saying that there is an apparent attempt to overshadow the revolution in Syria, and suppress Syrians’ hopes.
“Even if Israel acts opportunistically, sooner or later it will have to withdraw from lands it occupies,” said Erdoğan.
As Assad was toppled early this month, Israel quickly moved into the Syrian side of a 50-year-old demilitarized buffer zone. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government then approved a plan to double the population in the Israeli-held Golan Heights.
Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau, since 1967 and annexed that area in 1981, a move recognized only by the United States. The occupied Golan is home to around 30,000 Israelis and about 23,000 Druze Arabs, whose presence predates the occupation and most of whom retain Syrian citizenship.
President Erdoğan said Türkiye has been working on a particularly intense agenda, especially in foreign policy, since the last Cabinet meeting.
Pointing to the Dec. 11 meeting between Somali President Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hosted by Türkiye, Erdoğan said: “We have now crossed another critical threshold in the Ankara process, which was launched eight months ago to resolve issues between the two friendly countries.”
He underlined that the Horn of Africa region has long been associated with tensions, hunger, terrorist attacks, and the “divide and rule” policies of imperialist powers.
“We are well aware that these insidious scenarios are still in play. We believe the historic step taken with the Ankara Declaration will contribute to the establishment of lasting peace, tranquility, and stability in the Horn of Africa,” Erdoğan said.
On the recent visit to Türkiye of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim, Erdoğan said they discussed a wide range of issues, particularly the current situation in Syria.
“We will support Syria in its efforts to heal the wounds caused by 13 years of war, to recover and rebuild itself, both in terms of its state and its society,” he said.
On Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s visit to Türkiye, which followed Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Erdoğan said that it was “extremely valuable” for Türkiye.
“Prime Minister Mikati is carrying a heavy burden with great dignity during one of the most difficult periods in his country’s history. I am fully confident that, with his resilient and farsighted leadership, Lebanon will reach safety. During this process, we will not betray the trust placed in our country or in me personally, and we will stand by Lebanon with all our resources,” he added.
