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Türkiye is the guarantee for the security and peace of the Kurds in Syria as it is that of other communities, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday, underlining that those who turn to Ankara and Damascus will prevail.
Speaking on the occasion of the Malazgirt (Manzikert) Victory’s 954th anniversary in Muş province, Erdoğan said: “We defend permanent peace throughout the whole region. We aim for problems to be solved through dialogue and diplomacy.”
“Let no one forget that we, as Turks, Arabs and Kurds, will live side by side in this region until the apocalypse.”
Those seeking new foreign patrons will lose in the end, he added.
Erdoğan’s words on the Kurdish community in Syria come as the YPG, under the umbrella of the SDF, is making statements calling for autonomy and thus endangering the territorial integrity of Syria despite a deal struck earlier this year with the new Syrian administration.
Under the March deal, the SDF forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The agreement, which is supposed to be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye, and airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control. Detention centers housing thousands of Daesh members, now guarded by the YPG, would also come under government control.
It marks a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government led by the group that spearheaded the ousting of dictator Bashar Assad in December.
Erdoğan also touched on the terror-free Türkiye initiative, saying that significant progress had been achieved in a short time to enhance brotherly relations between the citizens of the country.
He indicated that some circles attempted to derail the process, but that all the state’s institutions are working determinedly.
The people know very well who is supporting the process and who is adopting a negative stance, Erdoğan continued.
“As Türkiye moves toward fully resolving the terrorism problem, attacks, sabotage and aggression will escalate. They will sometimes do this through lies and disinformation, other times by appealing to public sensitivities. They will also use fear among our people and deploy agents both domestically and abroad.”
“We will realize the Century of Türkiye, the great and powerful Türkiye, and a Türkiye without terrorism, which will be followed by a region without terrorism by working together.”
The terror-free Türkiye initiative, launched by government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, made its first tangible progress in February when Abdullah Öcalan accepted Bahçeli’s call and urged the group to lay down its weapons. In May, the PKK announced it would dissolve itself. Last month, some 30 PKK members, including a senior leader, burned their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq. Although symbolic, the gesture marked the first time that the group had laid down arms in its campaign of violence for more than four decades.
Earlier this month, the initiative proceeded to its next step with the establishment of the parliamentary committee.
Palestinian cause
“Türkiye today has become the hope of not only its own citizens but all oppressed,” the president added.
Erdoğan said that Türkiye also defends the Palestinian cause on every platform, supporting Gazans against the atrocities of Israel.
“Through letter diplomacy, phone calls, international meetings, aid exceeding 102,000 tons, we are defending Gaza’s rights and justice in the strongest possible way,” he said.
The Turkish public and government are major supporters of the Palestinian cause. Türkiye has been a traditional ally to Palestine, but as the Israeli attacks became more brutal, Ankara has become harsher in its criticism in the past year. It has condemned what it calls genocide, halted all trade with Israel and applied to join the genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel rejects.
In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, Türkiye has sought to rally international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to restrain Israel.
