President Erdoğan attends exclusive interview on TRT

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attends the TRT exclusive interview moderated by Serdar Karagoz and Sermin Baysal Ata.

SYRIAN ISSUE

Reminded that the Vahdettin Mansion, the venue of the interview, was also home to the Quadrilateral Summit on Syria, President Erdoğan noted that they still continue the process and that he will come together with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Sochi on February 14 to discuss the Syrian issue.    

Pointing out that the situation in Jarabulus, Afrin and Idlib is getting better and better every passing day, President Erdoğan said: “It is our hope that we should continue this way and, in these regions where the return has begun, the Syrian people should have the opportunity to return to their own land.”

Underlining that Turkey’s policies toward the north of Syria is based on Syria’s territorial integrity and political unity, President Erdoğan stressed that Turkey is against the fragmentation of the Syrian people. In answer to a question as to whether Turkey intends to continue the multilateral foreign policy both with Syria, Russia and the U.S., President Erdoğan noted that the foreign policy with Syria is maintained at a low level, and added that even if the leaders may detach themselves from many aspects of the process, it is not possible for the intelligence services to say ‘we do whatever the leaders do’.

Turkey will always stand by the Syrian people, further stressed President Erdoğan, and continued: “Mr. Trump promised to withdraw from the east of the Euphrates. I hope they take care of it in the shortest period of time. That is so because we don’t want to live under threat.” 

Also noting that the U.S. has yet to pull out of Manbij even though almost 9 months have passed since its announcement of a 90-day timeframe for withdrawal, President Erdoğan stated that Turkey’s past experiences confirm that it is impossible for Turkey to trust the coalition powers with the region extending from Jarabulus to Iraq.

FETO LEADER’S EXTRADITION TO TURKEY

Concerning the ongoing fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and the efforts for its U.S.-based leader’s extradition to Turkey, President Erdoğan underscored that Turkey has repeatedly apprised the U.S. authorities of the need to hand the terrorist leader over to Turkey. Drawing attention to the ongoing works of the FBI on the issue, President Erdoğan expressed his hope that the FBI’s efforts will result in positive developments. 

MURDER OF SAUDI JOURNALIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI

Asked about the murder of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Erdoğan recalled the Saudi Foreign Minister’s confession that ‘the murder was committed in collaboration with local co-operators’ against the Crown Prince’s remarks that the journalist ‘exited from and left the consulate general’. Adding that he cannot understand the reason for the U.S. silence in the face of the atrocity, President Erdoğan underscored that Turkey, having already shared the tapes of the incident with the CIA, works to ensure that everything about the murder is brought into the open.