President Erdoğan: We will not take any backstep in İdlib

 

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

President Erdoğan said: “We make every effort, including effective intervention on the ground, to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Idlib. Turkey, which currently hosts 3.7 million Syrians, will not accept in silence a new migration wave of over 1 million people towards its borders. We want the regime to put an immediate end to its attacks and withdraw to the boundaries outlined in the Sochi Memorandum, back behind our observation posts. Thus, we will be able to ensure that the masses, who are moving towards our borders, will return to their homes.”

“WE WILL NOT TAKE ANY BACKSTEP IN IDLIB”

“It is now undeniably evident that what the regime contemplates is not to save its lands but to destroy its own people and abandon the area to sectarian extremists, most of whom have been brought from abroad,” President Erdoğan stressed, and went on to say: “Those, who actually seek to save their lands, freedoms and future, are the groups that act together with our country. Their opposition is to the Assad regime, and their affection is towards their homeland and people. We have reinforced our military presence in Idlib both to ensure the security of our soldiers at the observation posts and checkpoints and to protect the people against the oppression of the Assad regime. The biggest challenge we are faced with at the time being is that we cannot use the air space. We will inshallah deal with this issue shortly.”

Stating that Turkey is also exploring all the diplomatic channels in the meantime, President Erdoğan continued: “Let me remind those, who assume they can make Turkey accept anything they like by cornering it, of a characteristic of this region. This region has swallowed up in an instance like a whirlwind many riding the high horse. In this region, we are the host, not the visitor. Therefore, we will not take any backstep in Idlib, will definitely push the regime out of the boundaries we have determined and ensure that people will return to their homes. As Turkey, we are determined on this issue and accept all kinds of self-sacrifice.”