Türkiye has overcome all obstacles to fight terrorism, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Tuesday, vowing to remember friends but adding enemies must know their place.
In northwestern Syria's Idlib and northern Syria's Ain al-Arab (Kobani), Türkiye has been taking all the necessary precautions and it will take them from now on, he underlined in the capital Ankara.
Speaking at the general assembly of the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK), Erdoğan said: "The West's condition in its fight against terrorism is evident, but Türkiye has overcome all obstacles to fight terrorism."
Türkiye has ended terrorism at its source, he said and lashed out at those criticizing Ankara's counter-terror efforts in the Ain al-Arab region.
"Kobani (Ain al-Arab) is already done (in fighting terror) ... In Idlib, in Kobani, we are taking all the necessary measures, we have taken, and we will take them from now on."
"Türkiye is now a place for them (terrorists) to drown in," Erdoğan added.
He pledged to increase Türkiye's friends, however, added that "our enemies will know their place. When we face a threat to our survival, we can achieve victories that no one expects."
"A Türkiye that is attempted to be dragged into artificial crises, let alone bowing down, it has been on the rise and this will continue," the president vowed.
Türkiye, he said, now makes its own decisions in politics, economy, diplomacy and military, and it also creates its own infrastructure and sets its own goals.
"Our destiny is no longer in anyone's hands. Now our nation determines our destiny," Erdoğan said.
Türkiye does not seek permission for its security operations in Syria, it only coordinates with its allies, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın also said on Sunday.
Recently, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the PKK terrorist group and its Syrian wing, the YPG, which have illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan attacks on Turkish soil.
The country's air operation followed a PKK/YPG terrorist attack on Nov. 13 on Istanbul's crowded Istiklal Street that killed six people and left 81 injured. The Turkish Defense Ministry said the operation was carried out in line with the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
After the air operation was launched, Erdoğan also signaled a ground operation in northern Iraq and northern Syria to eliminate the terrorist threat, adding: "This is not limited to just an air operation."
The president specified northern Syria's YPG-controlled Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab regions as possible targets to clear of terrorists.
The Turkish leader has threatened a new military operation into northern Syria since May and upped those threats in the wake of this month's attack. Erdoğan has repeatedly called for a 30-kilometer safe zone to protect Türkiye against cross-border attacks from Syrian territory.
"We know the identity, location and track record of the terrorists. We also know very well who patronizes, arms and encourages terrorists," Erdoğan also recently said, referring to the U.S. support for the YPG.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The PKK/YPG has controlled much of northeastern Syria after the forces of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad withdrew in 2012.
The U.S. primarily partnered with PKK/YPG terrorists in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Türkiye strongly opposed the PKK/YPG's presence in northern Syria.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the PKK/YPG, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Türkiye has conducted its counterterrorism operations throughout, removing a significant number of terrorists from the region.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful ground operations against terrorist groups to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
