Erdoğan vows Türkiye won’t let chaos reign in Syria

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday vowed neither Türkiye nor Syria would tolerate those who “seek to stir up chaos” in Syria.

“War barons investing in chaos will lose this time; Syrian people, including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Alawites, Sunnis, and Christians, will prevail,” Erdoğan told reporters on his way back from a visit to China, where he attended a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and met many world leaders.

“We will not abandon Syria. We will continue to stand by them. God willing, no one will be able to prevent Syria from rising again,” he added.

The president said: “Whoever tries to undermine this process will pay the price. Wherever they live, Kurds are our brothers and sisters. No one can drive us apart.”

Erdoğan was referring to the YPG terrorist group’s impending integration into the new Syrian army and the PKK’s disarmament process in Türkiye.

Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the PKK terrorist group, which recently announced its dissolution and began a disarmament process that will end 40 years of bloodshed in Türkiye. The YPG insists it is not a party to the disarmament.

It has also stalled implementing a March deal it made with the interim government in Damascus, which would integrate the YPG into the Syrian national army, bring all border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye, as well as airports and oil fields in the northeast, under the central government’s control.

However, the YPG’s insistence on entering the army as one bloc has stalled the process. The group has also been making statements calling for autonomy and thus endangering the territorial integrity of Syria.

Türkiye, which developed cordial ties with the transitional government, has pledged to continue supporting Syria’s political unity and territorial integrity, providing training and technical support upon request from Damascus to strengthen its fight against terrorist groups.

The YPG’s push for decentralization and symbolic changes, such as altering the country’s name, is widely seen by Türkiye as part of a broader effort to entrench separatist control in Syria’s north.

Palestine at UN

Erdoğan also said the United States should urgently revise its decision to revoke the visas of Palestinian officials and bar them from attending a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations this month in New York.

Washington on Saturday said that Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas was among 80 officials from his authority who would be denied visas to attend the U.N. General Assembly, where France is leading a push to recognize a Palestinian state.

Erdoğan said the U.S. decision was “not in line with the raison d’etre” of the United Nations.

“The decision needs to be urgently revised. The United Nations General Assembly exists for the issues of the world to be discussed and for solutions to be found.”

“The Palestinian delegation not being at the General Assembly would only please Israel,” he added. “What is expected from the United States is to say ‘stop’ to Israel’s massacres, cruelty”.

The highly unusual decision further aligns President Donald Trump’s administration with Israel’s government, which has massacred at least 63,500 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. On Monday, an association of genocide scholars said the legal criteria have been met to establish that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

NATO member Türkiye has fiercely criticized Israel over its actions in Gaza and says it is committing genocide there. It has halted all trade with Israel, called for international measures against it, and has repeatedly urged world powers to stop supporting Israel.

Since last week, Türkiye has also been calling for Israel to be suspended from international organizations, including the U.N. General Assembly.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan first made the call during an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting, saying recent Western pledges on the recognition of a Palestinian state showed the “tide is turning against Israel”, but that further measures were needed. He said a coordinated, joint effort within the U.N. was needed to push “for Palestine’s full membership, while also considering the suspension of Israel from the work of the General Assembly”.

Ukraine war

On the war in Ukraine, Erdoğan reiterated that only dialogue can end the conflict, noting that Ankara was on constant touch with the warring sides, as well as Washington.

Touting Ankara’s success in brokering the 2022 Black Sea grain deal and multiple prisoner swaps between Moscow and Kyiv since the war began in February 2022, Erdoğan said Türkiye will not stop pushing for dialogue.

“Türkiye has been an example by its ability to negotiate with both sides and earn their trust since the war began,” he said. “If we all prioritize dialogue over conflict, peace over war, we can open a window of opportunity.”

South Caucasus peace

Turning to the South Caucasus, Erdoğan was optimistic about peace in the region following the signing of a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia that is set to end decades of hostilities over the Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan are “on the same page” regarding peace, Erdoğan said.

“Peace will help open border crossings and activate new roads and railways, he added, referring to the Zangezur Corridor.

The Zangezur Corridor is a planned transit route through southern Armenia that will link Azerbaijan’s mainland with its Nakhchivan exclave via Türkiye, creating a direct railway, and eventually energy and digital infrastructure, across the South Caucasus.

Turkish officials say the project, backed by international financing, will boost regional trade, normalize ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and strengthen Türkiye’s role in the Middle Corridor from Asia to Europe.

China ties

Erdoğan went on to note China’s awareness of Türkiye’s regional importance and influence, adding that Ankara is making efforts to develop its relations with Beijing.

Türkiye seeks to expand ties with China in fields ranging from the economy and energy to digital technologies and healthcare, Erdoğan said, underscoring Ankara’s role as a bridge between East and West.

He said Türkiye rejects Cold War-era divisions, favors dialogue and equity-based solutions, and continues to push its vision that “a more just world is possible.”

Erdoğan added that he expects China, as a major global actor, to support these efforts.