President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday it was time to destroy “terrorist” groups that posed a threat to Syria’s survival, referring to ISIL Takfiri group and Kurdish militants.
“Daesh, the PKK, and their affiliates — which threaten the survival of Syria — must be eradicated,” he told journalists while returning from a Cairo summit, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
“It’s time to neutralize the existing terrorist organizations in Syria.”
President Erdogan:
– We don’t think any power will continue to work with terror groups in times ahead
– Heads of terrorist organisations, such as Daesh and PKK/YPG, will be eradicated in shortest possible time
– After region is cleared of such organisations, steps that will help… pic.twitter.com/oYfJCsckHa— TRT World (@trtworld) December 20, 2024
He said Ankara will support Syria during its transition process following the fall of former president Bashar Al-Assad’s government earlier this month.
Erdogan voiced Turkey’s readiness to “do whatever is necessary for Syria’s reconstruction”, including strengthening ties in trade, energy, and defense.
“We are supporting the Syrian people in managing the transition process smoothly, without any setbacks along the way,” Erdogan told journalists.
He also announced that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would soon be visiting Syria to work on the “new structure” to be established in the country.
“If Syria establishes a truly stable structure with this new formation, it will, in my view, hold a very strong position in the Islamic world,” he added.
On the other hand, Erdogan urged Western nations, particularly the US, to take action against Israeli occupation of Syrian territories.
“It must be declared loudly that Israel’s occupation of Syrian territories is unacceptable,” he asserted.
NEW⚡️
Erdogan: The U.S. and Western powers must take responsibility to stop Israel from invading Syrian territory. pic.twitter.com/64NjGNp3uo
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 20, 2024
Source: Agencies
