In a patch of sparsely populated land located near a Greek island, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan watched Turkish troops performing a massive military drill on Thursday. The president highlighted that Türkiye had no intention of capturing any piece of territory from any other country but repeated his warning that they would not sit idly against terrorist groups, particularly the PKK.
The PKK’s move to hold “elections” in Syria’s northeast in June in a bid for legitimacy irked Ankara. Erdoğan lamented “prevalent chaos” in Syria and how Syria's extension of the terrorist group escalated its threat in the region, with the goal of setting up “a terroristan.”
“They are threatening the local population. They extort them, recruit children and drive people out of their hometowns. A sinister plot is afoot and it targets our region. We are closely following actions against Syria’s territorial integrity,” he said.
The PKK, which always promoted itself as a “political party,” seeks to earn legitimacy for its Syrian wing, the YPG, through elections in a swathe of land controlled by the terrorist group near the Turkish border.
“Türkiye will not allow a 'terroristan' across its southern border, in Syria’s north. We did what we should have done and will not hesitate to retake action,” Erdoğan said. Türkiye has carried out several cross-border operations, accompanying Syrian opposition forces in recent years, to wipe out the presence of terrorist groups Daesh and PKK/YPG in Syria’s north.
Ankara often complains about the United States military support to the PKK/YPG under the guise of fighting against Daesh in Syria. “We are the only NATO ally fighting Daesh and managed to defeat them. We are well aware of the plot in motion by means of utilizing this terrorist group. We are aware of this regional plot. We don’t care about what anyone has to say when it comes to the territorial integrity of our country and safety of our nation,” Erdoğan said.
“We will not bow down to any threat. We believe that the terrorist group and its sponsors will eventually see that they cannot impose a fait accompli on us,” he said.
“We are on the side of peace and cooperation. We want to live together (in peace) with countries in our region. We don’t have a grudge against any country,” Erdoğan added, emphasizing that Türkiye had no intent on taking lands from any neighbors and would not turn down “hands” extended to them.
The Assad regime has, in the past, criticized Türkiye for its operations against the PKK in Syria, claiming violation of Syria’s sovereignty. Ankara and Damascus recently sought to normalize ties disrupted following civil war in Türkiye’s southern neighbor. Recently, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), urged Ankara to consider cooperation with the Assad regime to stamp out the PKK in Syria.
