Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday said Ankara will not tolerate terrorism in Syria under any circumstances.
“There is no way we will tolerate the continuation of terrorism in Syria,” Fidan told a joint news conference with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Qatar’s capital Doha.
Fidan began his two-day visit to the Gulf country on Sunday.
Stressing the importance of ensuring security in all of Syria, where a new administration is in place after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, he said: “It is important for armed groups (in Syria) to come together under a national army.”
On terrorism, Fidan said it is also important for both Türkiye and Syria to continue the fight against both PKK/YPG and ISIS (Daesh) terror groups.
“At the moment, the Damascus administration’s efforts to find a solution, especially for the YPG, are continuing. As Türkiye, we are following this closely,” he said, expressing hope that the problem will be solved without bloodshed.
Fidan said the US relationship with the PKK/YPG terror group was presented as “temporary cooperation” during the Barack Obama era, but Türkiye foresaw from the very beginning that this would lead to certain complications.
“In the process, of course, the fact that the (terrorist) organization gradually abused Americans and other Western countries and that there was a serious increase in the terrorist threat against Türkiye in return for the prison services it provided, constituted an unacceptable situation for us,” Fidan said, adding that this was shared with US officials.
He said the PKK/YPG provides “prison services” for ISIS prisoners, but does not have the ability to fight ISIS alone, and is itself a terrorist organization.
“In this regard, Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan are all capable of coming together and waging the necessary fight against ISIS. Hopefully, we will take a step in this direction as four countries in the near future.
“We have already held preliminary talks on this matter. We hope that our American friends will give up this policy that poses a threat to Türkiye,” he said.
The Turkish foreign minister highlighted that another formula could be employed to make it possible for the detainees of the ISIS terror group to remain imprisoned.
The new administration in Syria is ready to assume responsibility in this respect and Türkiye is ready to provide all kind of support, Fidan underscored.
He expressed hope that US President Donald Trump will “put an end to this ongoing mistake in the region,” adding that this situation both triggered regional instability and damaged Türkiye-US relations.
Fidan also urged the lifting of international sanctions on Syria, which is recovering from 14 years of civil war, and underscored the importance of taking serious steps in the reconstruction of the war-torn country, and its energy needs.
Türkiye has long complained of the US working with the PKK/YPG on the pretext of fighting Daesh/ISIS. Turkish officials say using one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense.
Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations since 2016 across its border in northern Syria 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).
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
– Türkiye-Qatar ties
Pointing to positive relations between Türkiye and Qatar, Fidan said: “The relations between the two countries are at a strategic level. These relations are based on a certain sincerity, professionalism, brotherhood, and faith, and have solid foundations.
“A relationship that has been carefully built brick by brick by our leaders for years. Of course, everyone sees the positive contribution of this relationship to the peace, security, prosperity and economy of the region.”
Fidan said the bilateral ties also help bring solutions to regional problems.
– Cooperation in Syria
Pointing out that Türkiye is working with the new administration in Syria, Fidan said “it is extremely important” that the next political process is carried out by the Syrian government in an inclusive, mature, and democratic manner.”
He said the Syrian people have a number of problems awaiting solution, emphasizing that Türkiye and Qatar are in close cooperation in every field.
The foreign minister said they are working on what can be done in the energy, transportation and communication sectors.
– Ceasefire in Gaza
Fidan said the uninterrupted continuation of the three-phase ceasefire in Gaza, which took hold on Jan. 19, is a priority for Türkiye, and thanked the Qatari and Egyptian sides for their contribution in reaching the deal.
He emphasized the importance of taking all kinds of steps to maintain the truce and to prevent the genocide committed by Israel in the region from resuming.
Referring to the importance of uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to the region, Fidan said there are problems from time to time and that Israel should give up its obstructive behavior.
Stressing that the international community should not lose its sensitivity on this issue and do its best, Fidan said: “All our institutions are mobilized. We are in an effort to coordinate with Egypt and other partner countries on how we can deliver our aid to Gaza in the best and fastest way possible.”
The Turkish diplomat wished that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution.”Otherwise, renewed conflicts, renewed fights will always continue to trigger instability in our region. As regional countries, as we did in Palestine and Syria, we will continue to embrace the problems of the region as regional countries, and we will continue to bring region-specific, regional solutions to them,” he said.
Asked about a clause included in the Gaza ceasefire deal requiring some released Palestinian prisoners not to remain in the Palestinian territories, Fidan said: “We saw this issue in the case of (Israeli soldier) Gilad Shalit.
“We were asked to take some Palestinians and we accepted. Now, our president (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) has expressed readiness to host some Palestinians, those who have been released, together with other countries to support the agreement.”
Highlighting that Türkiye would “do its part” on this matter, he expressed Ankara’s desire to see the current truce become a permanent ceasefire.
On Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, Fidan said Ankara is “completely opposed” to the suggestion, which, he said, is against humanitarian law.
He stressed that everyone should stand against the plan, and that Türkiye supports the recent pushback by Arab countries. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the Palestinian Authority joined Jordan and Egypt in rejecting the idea in Cairo on Saturday.