President Erdoğan: No one can object to us exercising by ourselves our right to do so given the failure to guarantee our troops’ security in Idlib

 

President and Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the party’s parliamentary group meeting. 

“WE WILL NOT TURN A BLIND EYE TO ANY STEP WHICH AMOUNTS TO A VIOLATION OF OUR AGREEMENTS”

Underlining that the developments in Syria compelled Turkey to make adjustments to its security strategy both in Idlib and along the border, President Erdoğan said: “The number of people who started to move from Idlib towards the regions we control and our border has reached one million. No one has the right to lay such a burden on our shoulders. We are determined to fix this anomaly swiftly and ensure that the people of Idlib live peacefully in their homes.  We will not turn a blind eye to any step which amounts to a violation of the agreements we have reached.”

President Erdoğan went on to say: “First of all, we want the regime to immediately retreat to the borders stipulated by the Sochi Agreement, in other words, to retreat behind our observation posts. As of now, two of our 12 observation posts have remained behind the regime line. We hope that the regime’s process of pulling back behind our observation posts will have been completed within the month of February. Unless the regime pulls back within this period of time, Turkey itself will have to take over the matter.”

Stressing that the ceasefire violations, presented thus far as the pretext for the attacks by the regime in Idlib, have not taken place unilaterally, President Erdoğan stated: “As a matter of fact, the ceasefire violations of the regime are exponentially graver than those of the oppositional groups. Everybody was already aware of the fact that not an easy process was awaiting us in Idlib, to which the most problematic groups were brought from across the country. Turkey’s sincere efforts and considerable success on the issue are evident. From now on, the violations by the regime will be retaliated by targeting its military units as the regime responds to even the slightest violations by the oppositional groups with heavy attacks which also target civilians.”   

President Erdoğan further stressed: “Any attack, be it from ground or air, on our troops or on the friendly elements we are working with will be responded to in kind without any warning irrespective of its origin. No one can object to us exercising by ourselves our right to do so given the failure to guarantee our troops’ security in Idlib.”