President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday that Bashar Assad is a terrorist who leads state terror, and it is not possible to work on a solution in Syria with him.
"How could we embrace the future with the president of Syria who killed close to 1 million of its citizens? Once again, I clearly want to say [Assad] is a terrorist who leads state terror. There is no peace in Syria now and won't be with Assad," Erdoğan said at a joint press conference with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to U.N. officials.
Erdoğan also contended that the reason for presence of foreign military powers in Syria is instability across the country, especially in northern Syria, which emanated from Assad's presence. "There is a terrorist corridor in northern Syria. Why are coalition forces there? Why are Russians there? Why are we there? It is not possible to continue with Assad," he said.
Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield on Aug. 24 last year with Free Syrian Army (FSA) elements, which was initially meant to clear the border of the threat of terrorism from Daesh and the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian affiliate Democratic Union Party's (PYD) armed People's Protection Units (YPG).
The operation achieved its objective of driving out Daesh and managed to force the YPG to withdraw east of the Euphrates River, except for Afrin and Manbij. Ankara has been giving signals of a possible military offensive recently as a large number of military units deployed near Idlib to keep a tight grip on the town.
Russia, Turkey and Iran, which are the guarantor states that brokered a cease-fire in Syria in December 2016, initiated the Astana peace talks that are running parallel to Geneva talks, in order to find a permanent solution to Syrian crisis. Representatives of the Syrian regime, armed opposition groups, as well as delegations from the guarantor states, the UN, Jordan and the U.S. participate in the talks.
Tangible steps ahead for Palestinian issue
Erdoğan also said that Turkey would now take concrete steps for the recognition of Palestine, as he criticized the unjust structure of the U.N. Security Council and reiterated his calls for reform. He added Turkey and Tunisia share similar views regarding the status of Jerusalem.
"[East] Jerusalem is the capital for us, and we have officially announced this," Erdoğan said, adding that Israel has been left alone in its efforts to impose the idea that Jerusalem is its capital.
Erdoğan said that the position of European states regarding Jerusalem is also important, as they did not support the U.S.
"Jerusalem is our red line, and any steps taken against the city's historical status and holiness cannot be accepted," the president said, adding that Turkey will continue to support Palestine and the peace process.
Erdoğan also reaffirmed Turkey's support for Tunisia's fight against terrorism. "Thanks to this information sharing, we have either sent thousands of terrorists to their [home] countries or have placed them behind bars," he said.
Essebsi said that Erdoğan's visit would play an important role in deepening ties between the two countries, adding that he had been invited for an official visit to Turkey.
Erdoğan, accompanied by a delegation of government officials, arrived in Tunisia early Wednesday for a one-day visit.
Tunisia is the last stop on Erdoğan's visits to three African countries, preceded by visits to Sudan and Chad.