President Erdoğan: The withdrawal process must be carried out without allowing any vacuum

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a joint press conference with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran following the Trilateral Summit on Syria.

“WE DON’T WANT NEW HUMANITARIAN CRISES AND TRAGEDIES TO OCCUR IN SYRIA”

Making remarks on the summit, President Erdoğan said they held productive, successful and sincere talks during the summit, and that they discussed the joint works conducted to restore the climate of peace and stability in Syria as well as the steps that might be taken to end the conflicts therein.

Stating that achieving ceasefire in Syria, particularly in Idlib, is one of the topics of their main agenda, President Erdoğan noted: “The Syrian people, especially our brothers and sisters struggling to survive in Idlib, have suffered enough and paid heavy prices in the past eight years. We don’t want new humanitarian crises and tragedies to occur either in Idlib or in other areas in Syria.”

Underlining that Turkey, despite the difficulties on the ground and some countries’ provocations, have exerted extraordinary efforts to preserve tranquility in Idlib, President Erdoğan stated that Turkey will continue to do its part as per the Idlib agreement, adding that he has conveyed Turkey’s expectation to his Russian and Iranian counterparts that the Syrian regime will also abide by the ceasefire.

“THE WITHDRAWAL PROCESS MUST BE CARRIED OUT WITHOUT ALLOWING ANY VACUUM”

“We have reaffirmed our determination on preserving Idlib’s status as a region that de-escalates tensions as well as on jointly fighting the provocative attempts in the region,” said the President, underlining that it is of paramount importance that the U.S. withdrawal decision from Syria be implemented and that it is a must that the withdrawal process be carried out without allowing any vacuum which can be abused by the PYD/YPG and the DAESH terrorist organizations.

Pointing out that on the basis of the cooperation within the Astana Platform, they attach importance to the close cooperation with Russia and Iran during the U.S. withdrawal process, President Erdoğan said the process should be handled with an understanding that both eliminates the terror threat and takes Syria’s territorial integrity into consideration, and that the safe zone to be created should not be considered as an area where terrorist organizations will flourish.

Reiterating that Turkey will not allow a terror corridor along its southern borders, President Erdoğan continued as follows: “We expect our Astana partners to support the steps we will take to this end, including the creation of the safe zone. In addition to this, I would also like to point out that we interpret our future within the framework of the Adana Agreement signed in 1998.”

“HOPES FOR A POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE SYRIAN CONFLICT HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS STRONG”

Voicing their desire for a credible and balanced constitutional committee in coordination with the United Nations to become operational immediately in Syria, President Erdoğan said: “As the three guarantor countries, we have indeed made great progress thus far in search for a political solution. Hopes for a political solution to the Syrian conflict have never been this strong. We cannot fail now after we have overcome many difficulties. We must absolutely make the process successful despite the circles that feed on chaos and sustainable instability.”

Underlining that he agreed with President Putin and President Rouhani to complete the process of the forming of the constitutional committee in Syria before long, President Erdoğan stated that they also discussed the issue of the Syrian refugees’ returning to their homes, noting that Turkey is the country that embraces the most refugees in the world by hosting more than 3.6 million Syrians. The President further said 310 thousand Syrians have so far returned to the regions of the operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch, and that these people freely continue their lives without fear of terror in the areas that Turkey has made secure in their homeland.

Stating that they will implement this model, which has paved the way for the returns, in Manbij and east of the Euphrates once these places are cleared of terror, President Erdoğan noted that within the framework of fair burden sharing, they expect the international community to assume responsibility on this issue, adding that however, there is unfortunately a very big gap at this point. “Those who constantly keep the issue of refugees on the agenda, unfortunately, disappear when it comes to assuming responsibility,” President Erdoğan said, expressing his hope that the outcomes of today’s summit will contribute to the restoration of the climate of peace and stability in Syria.

“WE ARE DETERMINED TO MAINTAIN OUR EFFORTS TO BRING A SOLUTION TO THE SYRIAN CONFLICT”

President Erdoğan concluded as follows: “As the three guarantor countries, we are determined to maintain our efforts to bring a solution to the Syrian conflict on the basis of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254. I have also agreed with Mr. Putin and Mr. Rouhani to hold further summits. On this occasion, I shared with them our desire to host the next summit in Turkey in the upcoming months.”

Answering reporters’ questions following his remarks, President Erdoğan, in answer to a question as to what was discussed during the summit with regard to Idlib’s future, said the Syrian issue was addressed under several topics, and that one of the topics was the migration issue. “Our joint intervention with Russia averted a migration influx from Idlib,” the President underlined, adding that nearly 400 thousand people live in that region now.

Responding to a question regarding the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria, President Erdoğan said if necessary steps had been taken when the decision had been announced, everything would be different now, and that as the three countries within the Astana process, they closely follow the issue. The President further noted: “All we want is to ensure Syria’s territorial integrity. Manbij must be cleared of terrorist organizations and Idlib must not be left as a playground to terrorist organizations. These lands belong to the Syrian people, and they should be handed over to the Syrian people.”