The former president of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, Abdurrahman Mustafa, said it is impossible to have peace in Syria without the intervention of Turkey, further stressing that the recently launched Operation Euphrates Shield carried out by Turkey is not a border violation but rather a mission of self-defense.

Commenting on the operation, "There cannot be peace in Syria without President Erdoğan and Turkey," Mustafa said and underlined that Turkey cannot be pushed aside in the Syria equation. "What is being done here is not a border violation but self-defense. A Syria without Turkmens and a Middle East without Turkey cannot exist," Mustafa added.

Mustafa said it is Turkey's absolute right to be in the region as a country that has always been a friend to Syria and now hosts a high amount of many refugees, considering that even Russia, Iran and the U.S. got both politically and physically involved in the clashes in the region.

Mustafa drew attention to the importance of the operation performed by Turkey and the Free Syrian Army (FSA), stating the Syrian Turkmens were expecting such action from Turkey. "The only ally we have in the region is Turkey," Mustafa said, noting that Turkmens have always taken refuge in Turkey when in trouble.

"The Syrian regime, which turned the region into a hot bed of terrorism, started transferring this terror produced in Syria to Turkey," Mustafa said. He underscored that the attacks in the Gaziantep, Elazığ, Van, İstanbul, Ankara and Kilis provinces show that Turkey must defend itself as it is under serious threat. Stating that protecting its sovereignty and its borders is the most natural right Turkey has, Mustafa added that Turkey is not being unfair to anyone or encroaching on anyone's rights.

He also stressed that Turkey has always said the Syrian people should be the ones to determine their own future. "Turkey and our president are the only hope for the oppressed in Syria. Turkey is the only country that wants peace in Syria," Mustafa stated, saying all the other countries have been defending chaos for their own benefits. Criticizing the Assad regime, which lost its legitimacy over the last six years according to Mustafa, he added that the country will be ruled by the FSA after the operations, without discriminating between Arabs, Kurds or Turkmens.

"Which other country hosted 3 million refugees?" Mustafa asked, reminding that the recent refugee flow only alarmed Europe as a "refugee crisis." Mustafa remarked that Turkey took on a historic responsibility, adding that henceforth no one can deny Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the leader of the Islamic world, as also proven by the Turkish public who stood behind its leader in the July 15 failed coup attempt.

Mustafa stated that the PKK's Syrian offshoot Democratic Union Party (PYD) will be the next target in the region after the cleansing of Jarablus from DAESH and criticized the recent tweets of PYD ringleader Salih Muslim who said that "Turkey will lose a lot in the Syrian quagmire." Mustafa underlined Turkey has a strong government and that the PYD does has no superpower to support it, despite what they think. He also stated that the PYD has clearly got into deep water, adding, "I believe that these operations will be carried out determinedly until the danger of those terrorist organizations threatening Turkey and disrupting the integrity of Syria passes"