President Erdoğan: The actual target of the scenario we are faced with is not Syria but Turkey

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed members of parliament at a meeting at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul.

“TO TURKEY, THE SYRIAN ISSUE IS BY NO MEANS AN ADVENTURE OR AN EFFORT TO EXPAND ITS BORDERS”

“To Turkey, the Syrian issue is by no means an adventure or an effort to expand its borders,” President Erdoğan said. “During our struggle on the ground in Syria, we have taken special care to maintain diplomacy and dialogue with the powers active in the region. Although most of the promises given to us have not been kept, we have exerted special efforts to keep this avenue open. The Idlib issue emerged as a matter deliberately designed and provoked to corner our country and to take away our other achievements.”

Noting that it would be wrong to assess the issue solely in terms of Idlib, President Erdoğan said: “What should be looked at here is Turkey’s Syrian policy in its entirety. If we do not clear our Syrian borders of terrorist organizations today, the picture we will be faced with tomorrow is evidently clear. We will have to put up the fight, which we abstain to do in Qamishli, Ras al-Ayn, Tel Abyad, Ayn al-Arab, Jarabulus, Manbij, al Bab, Idlib today, in Şırnak, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep and Hatay tomorrow. The actual target of the scenario we are faced with is not Syria but Turkey. Those who get what they want in Syria will immediately turn their crosshairs on Turkey. It is worse than unwary to think that those who effectively divided Syria into three parts today will respect Turkey’s integrity.”