President Erdoğan: We were the only NATO country that fought hand to hand against DAESH on the ground in Syria and defeated this terrorist organization
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the North Atlantic Council Mediterranean Dialogue Meeting at Çankaya Palace in Ankara.
“We were the only NATO country that fought hand to hand against DAESH on the ground in Syria and defeated this terrorist organization amid a wave of slanders against Turkey,” President Erdoğan said. “Through Operation Olive Branch, we have liberated the Afrin region from the occupation of PKK’s Syrian branch. We have enabled nearly 320 thousand Syrian refugees to return to the terror-free ‘safe zones’. As a result of Turkey’s efforts and sacrifices, peace now prevails again in regions which were under terrorist organizations’ assault just until a few years ago.”
“THE ESSENCE OF NATO IS ALLIED SOLIDARITY”
“The essence of NATO is Allied solidarity. We as states are under the same security umbrella,” underlined President Erdoğan, and continued: “Although we are geographically located in different continents, we share the same destiny in the face of threats against our countries. It is against NATO’s raison d’être to expect Alliance members to address such serious security challenges as terror on their own.”
Noting that Islamophobia and xenophobia, which have turned into a plague epidemic in Western societies, pose a threat to the life and property of millions of people along with Turkish citizens, President Erdoğan said: “The nefarious acts of terror in Sri Lanka and New Zealand have manifested the extent the problem has reached. The scourge of terror will continue to escalate in the absence of necessary measures and a joint stance. We have just one expectation from our allies at a time when the threats against Turkey’s survival are on the rise. We expect our friends at NATO just to act in line with the Alliance’s spirit and uphold the Alliance’s founding values. We want our allies to take measures against the groups which they themselves designate as a terrorist organization.”
