Addressing AK Party’s parliamentary group meeting, President Erdoğan said: “We will definitely find the dirty hands that attacked our flag and hold these traitors to account. Investigations have already been launched by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Justice.”
President and Justice and Development (AK) Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the party’s group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT).
“We shall never tolerate a secessionist structure along Türkiye’s southern borders”
President Erdoğan said: “Our neighbor Syria has been waging a strenuous struggle since the December 8 revolution in order to establish unity in the country. As you know, an agreement was signed on March 10 with the structure called SDF, which occupied lands in the north and south of Syria. The agreement stipulated that the SDF would lay down its arms and hand over the lands under its occupation to the Syrian government, and thus the country’s unity and integrity would be ensured. Yet, the SDF didn’t take any positive step for integration within the designated timeframe. Besides violating the March 10 agreement, the structure called SDF also continued to exert pressure on the civilians in the lands it occupied, and to attack civilian and military targets outside of these lands. The negotiations held in December between the SDF leaders and the Damascus government for the implementation of the agreement unfortunately ended with no positive outcome. The reason for this, to be honest, was the intransigent and foot-dragging stance of the structure called SDF that kept raising the stakes. Throughout this process, we made the necessary recommendations to all parties by means of our relevant institutions. We made every effort to break the stalemate and prevent the crisis from escalating into a hot conflict. Some other actors also stepped in. We offered the necessary recommendations for the implementation of the March 10 agreement. Yet, no change took place in the maximalist stance of the structure called SDF. Against this backdrop, the Syrian army, because of the attacks targeting the security forces, conducted operations in the second week of January first in the neighborhoods inside Aleppo and then in the areas west of the Euphrates in a very righteous and legitimate manner. Also over the last one week, the neighborhoods inside Aleppo as well as the lands east of the Euphrates were cleared of illegal armed elements by the Syrian army.”
Stressing that since the very beginning Türkiye has defended in the strongest manner the existence of one single Syrian state with territorial integrity and political unity, President Erdoğan stated: “We have repeatedly declared that we shall never tolerate a secessionist structure along Türkiye’s southern borders that would pose a threat to our country’s security. As their neighbors and brothers and sisters, we wholeheartedly support the Syrian state’s and the Syrian army’s endeavors to build a unified and independent Syria. We, with most heartfelt feelings, congratulate the Syrian government, the Syrian army, and the brotherly Syrian people on their successful operations in recent weeks. We pray for Allah Almighty’s mercy on those martyrized in the conflicts, and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. In a similar fashion, we very much welcome the ceasefire agreement signed yesterday. Our wish is for this issue to be resolved for good without further bloodshed, for the terrorist organization cornered into certain zones in the north of Syria to lay down arms and disband, and the prevention of any further conflicts. It is already impossible for the terrorist organization to sustain its existence in the areas it has been cornered into. From this point on, resorting to provocations in Syria would clearly amount to suicide. The terrorist organization cannot obtain any result by treacherously attacking our glorious flag as it did yesterday on the Nusaybin–Qamishli border line with the child-age militants it forcibly recruits and with the civilian individuals it deploys to the field under coercion. The only way out is to lay down weapons and peacefully resolve the issue in compliance with the agreement reached yesterday. We will definitely find the dirty hands that attacked our flag and hold these traitors to account. Investigations have already been launched by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Justice. In accordance with the outcomes of the investigations, necessary action will be taken regarding anyone who has a flaw or negligence.”
“We have been closely following all of these developments transpiring on the ground in Syria. We have been pursuing a sensitive process for the elimination of existing risks for Türkiye, prevention of the emergence of new threats, and the immediate establishment of peace and security in Syria. Let me particularly stress that the Kurds in Syria are our full-blooded brothers and sisters. As their brothers and sisters, it is us who know the best the oppression our Kurdish brothers and sisters endured at the hands of the former brutal regime. Their existence was not acknowledged. They were not accepted as citizens. They were denied ID cards. They were not allowed to speak their mother tongue or to sustain their culture and traditions. I, your brother, highlighted these injustices in all the talks I held in my capacity as Prime Minister from 2008 onwards. We insistently kept bringing up the rights of our Kurdish brothers and sisters in Syria. We took every opportunity to emphasize that Kurds’ fundamental rights must be acknowledged. While no one mentioned these, while no one ever spoke of the Syrian Kurds’ rights, we openly and clearly expressed these to our counterparts. We did much more than meets the eye and what is known. In all the talks we held with the former regime before our relations were broken off, the rights of our Syrian Kurdish brothers and sisters were always high on our agenda. In other words, our approach to this issue was always centered on people rather than self-interest. This is how we approached the Syrian issue since day one. We stood by the rightful struggle of the Syrian people. We opened our arms to our Syrian brothers and sisters in their most difficult times. We embraced Syrian immigrants with the Ansar awareness.”
“The new Syrian government embraced the Syrian Kurds along with all the other ethnic and religious groups in the country”
“With the onset of the civil war in Syria in 2011, our Kurdish brothers and sisters, this time, came under the oppression of the terrorist organization. Kurdish children and Kurdish youths in Syria, with weapons thrusted into their hands, were pushed to conflicts and sent to death for the ambitions and aspirations of the terrorist organization. A lifestyle contradictory to their faith, traditions and customs was imposed upon the Kurdish people. Concurrently, DAESH-member murderers took aim at the Syrian opposition as well our Kurdish brothers and sisters, and massacred them. It must be noted that the new Syrian government, after the revolution, embraced the Syrian Kurds along with all the other ethnic and religious groups in the country, and adopted a very constructive stance for a sincere integration. With the declarations he issued, President of Syria, Mr. Ahmad Al-Sharaa of Syria acknowledged Syrian Kurds’ right to existence, their right to preserve their language and culture, and their right to participate in Syria’s administration. The declaration issued on January 16 is a historic declaration of intention for our Syrian Kurdish brothers and sisters’ fair and equal participation in the Syrian state,” President Erdoğan said.
Underscoring that Türkiye doesn’t have designs over any country’s lands, President Erdoğan went on: “We don’t interfere with any country’s domestic affairs. Yet, we don’t allow any harm to our country’s interests, either. Through our National Intelligence Organization, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Turkish Armed Forces, and all our relevant institutions, we have been closely monitoring the developments uninterruptedly since the very beginning. I discussed these topics with U.S. President Mr. Trump in a productive phone call yesterday. We exchanged views on numerous issues of critical importance that would contribute to Syria’s security. The remaining areas under the terrorist organization’s control and the civilians living there will also hopefully be liberated as soon as possible with the implementation of the agreement signed yesterday, and thus a unified Syria where everyone feels safe will be achieved.”
“Syria has fertile agricultural fields, it has water, it has oil, it has a hardworking, and honest people that love Türkiye and the Turkish nation from the bottom of their heart. Under the former regime, Syria’s resources were denied to the Syrian people and shared among a handful of elites. The Syrian people were denied these resources yet again under the occupation of the terrorist organization. From now on Syria’s riches will be employed for the Syrian people. Syria will recover as soon as possible and it will become prosperous swiftly. In this new era, all Syrian citizens, including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Alawites, Druze and Christians, will equally benefit from this prosperity. Syria will become a country of prosperity and stability in the region. The Syrian people in their entirety will win. A terror-free Syria where peace and calm prevail will swiftly take shape.”
“I must, however, add that we are witnessing attempts to provoke the Kurds through a propaganda built upon lies and distortions, under the pretext of the operations in Syria,” President Erdoğan noted. “Let me reiterate that particularly my Kurdish brothers and sisters in Türkiye shouldn’t fall for these scenarios, and should act wisely and calmly by noticing the true intention behind such provocations. The terrorist organization is one thing and my Kurdish brothers and sisters are another. Whether there or here, no one can put any imposition on the will of my Kurdish brothers and sisters, no one can speak as the sole representative of Kurds. No one can come in between Turks, Arabs and Kurds. Our Kurdish brothers and sisters should never fall for these provocations and should always act with common sense.”
President Erdoğan added: “Frankly, Syria’s attainment of stability and peace will above all bring relief to Syrian Kurds; Türkiye and Syrian citizens will henceforth embrace one another with greater warmth and, inshallah, form a unique union of strength grounded in the law of brotherhood. The latest developments in Syria will usher in a future brighter than snow for Turks, Turkmens, Kurds, Arabs and all our other brothers and sisters. Once terrorism, violence, and weapons are eliminated, every issue will be discussed on the political plane, around the table, and resolved there through consultation. Let me once again underline with all my sincerity that no one should give into worry, none of my brothers and sisters fall into pessimism or hesitation. As long as the Republic of Türkiye is here, and as long as this state—praise be to Allah—stands tall and firm, there is no need for anyone to look elsewhere for patrons or to pursue other friends or partners.”