President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday said Türkiye would "complete unfinished business" with terrorist group PKK and its offshoot YPG in northern Iraq and Syria by this summer.
"We will completely guarantee the security of our Iraqi border by this summer and will definitely complete our unfinished business in Syria," he said at an iftar meal, a dinner to mark the breaking of the daily fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with a group of Turkish soldiers in the capital Ankara.
"Our goal is to deliver a Türkiye completely free from the dark shadow of terrorism to our children, with a bright future and luck."
Erdoğan said his government provides all kinds of support to soldiers to pursue their challenging struggle against terrorist groups and will continue to do so.
Noting that Türkiye has begun to see results from its strategy to dry up terrorism at its source within and beyond the borders, Erdoğan highlighted success in using armed drones, domestically produced arms and ammunition and national weapons to target and eliminate terrorists.
"As a result of our operations, we will not allow these hired killer gangs, who are now gasping for breath, cornered and on the verge of extinction, to revive and become a burden on our nation again. Regardless of whose project it is, we will not allow the establishment of a terrorist state beyond our southern borders," he said.
With a nod to the current shortcomings of the global system, Erdoğan mentioned past experiences that showed the limitations of international alliances and organizations in maintaining global peace. He emphasized the need for domestic and national defense industries to ensure Türkiye's self-sufficiency.
Underscoring Türkiye's commitment to defend its borders and interests, both within and beyond its borders, against threats, Erdoğan said Türkiye is determined to strengthen its military and ensure national unity and solidarity.
The president's remarks come as Ankara has ramped up cross-border operations against the PKK, based in northern Iraq's mountainous region close to the Turkish border and warned of new incursions into the region.
The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency.
The conflict was long fought mainly in rural areas of southeastern Türkiye but is now more focused on the mountains of northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, where PKK militants have their headquarters in Qandil. Türkiye has since 2019 conducted a series of cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the PKK, dubbed "Claw," the latest of which is the ongoing "Claw-Lock."
Iraq has said the operations violate its sovereignty, but Ankara says it is protecting its borders. The intention is to establish a 30-40 kilometer security corridor to secure its southern borders completely.
Last week, in a move that could lead to tangible field cooperation against the PKK, Türkiye and Iraq agreed to set up a joint committee to work on counterterrorism during talks between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Ibrahim Kalın and their Iraqi counterparts in Baghdad.
The Iraqi National Security Council also decided to designate the PKK terrorist group a banned organization in Iraq, clearing a longstanding strain that drew Ankara's ire.
Türkiye often urges Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a semi-autonomous entity controlling the north, to recognize the PKK as a terrorist group and expects the KRG to cut off logistical or political support to the group.
The PKK seeks to legitimize its presence through political parties and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in northern Iraq.
In rural Sulaymaniyah, it often intimidates the local population by setting up "checkpoints" and through extortions and kidnappings. Collaboration between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the PKK in semi-autonomous northern Iraq risks spillover of the terrorist group's violent campaigns to the wider region.
PUK, based in Sulaymaniyah, stands accused of giving more freedom of movement both in the city and rural parts of Sulaymaniyah to the PKK. Ankara has since closed off its airspace to flights to the city and halted its own flights. Particularly after 21 Turkish soldiers were killed in Metina, it repeatedly warned of "further measures" if the Sulaymaniyah administration continues to tolerate terrorists.
The two countries are also gearing up for Erdoğan's visit to Baghdad after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, further signifying a pivotal moment in bilateral relations.
In Syria, Ankara combats the PKK's local wing, the YPG, which has occupied much of northeastern Syria, particularly the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province and has grown stronger thanks to material support from the U.S. since 2015.
It launched three successful counterterrorism operations since 2016 across its border in the region to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019 – operations that the U.S. had opposed.
Washington's support to the YPG also strains Turkish-U.S. ties as Ankara warns its NATO ally against aiding terror elements that threaten its national security, something Washington continues to do despite promising to remove the group from the Turkish border area.
Erdoğan warned earlier this month that "all in the region must respect this security strategy of ours. Otherwise, they will be the reason for potential tensions."
