Türkiye will not abandon Syria in its transition process following the ouster of Bashar Assad and help its new rulers build a new administration, including improving ties in trade, energy and defense, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
Speaking to reporters on a return flight from a D-8 meeting in Egypt, Erdoğan also said that Türkiye would support the new Syrian leadership in the fight against terrorist organizations.
Türkiye views the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, a terror group that has waged a decadeslong terror campaign on Turkish soil, killing at least 40,000 people. But Washington insists the group is its ally in the anti-Daesh coalition, which Ankara says is a “senseless” move to use a terror group to fight another.
The PKK/YPG uses strongholds in northern Syria and Iraq near the Turkish border, where it has sought to establish a terror corridor. Ankara has targeted PKK/YPG hideouts in Syria since 2016.
Erdoğan said his government was taking “preventive measures” against groups that posed a threat to Türkiye.
“It is impossible for us to accept such a risk,” he said, hoping Syria’s new leaders would not opt to work with them.
“Daesh, PKK and its versions which threaten the survival of Syria need to be eradicated,” he said, warning the heads of the groups would be “crushed in the shortest time possible.”
“Now that there is a new Syria, Syrians will determine their own futures and we will try to assist them in how a government must be,” Erdoğan continued.
Türkiye will try to help the new Syrian administration form a state structure and a new constitution, according to Erdoğan.
He said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would soon visit Syria to discuss the “new structure,” following in the footsteps of spy chief Ibrahim Kalin, who went to the Syrian capital just four days after Assad’s fall and met with the HTS leadership.
“If Syria establishes a truly stable structure with this new formation, it will, in my view, hold a very strong position in the Islamic world,” Erdoğan added.
The Turkish president confirmed Ankara is in touch with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, now known by his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the anti-regime advance that toppled Assad.
“We are in touch with Mr. Golani to help form a constitution,” Erdoğan said, noting that he was “happy” to see many Muslim nations and Western countries developing contact with Golani.
“This is, in a way, a sign of trust in the new administration,” he said.
He also said that talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would be “important” in determining Syria’s future.
Erdoğan repeated his call for the lifting of sanctions imposed under Assad, most of which from Washington, which he said would help Syria rebuild.
“Türkiye will intensify trade relations with Syria and Iraq,” Erdoğan said. “This will bring new dynamism for both Syria and Türkiye in every aspect.”
“We will collaborate in many areas, from defense to education and energy. Syria currently faces serious energy issues. But we will swiftly address all of these problems.”
Erdoğan also addressed regional security concerns, calling for consistency in how Western countries treat terrorist groups.
“Just as Daesh cannot hold demonstrations in the streets and squares of Western countries, neither should the PKK and its affiliates,” he said.
Emphasizing the diminished influence of the PKK, Erdoğan declared that the terror group and affiliated organizations have “reached the end of their life span.”
On broader geopolitical issues, Erdoğan urged Western nations, particularly the U.S., to take action against Israel’s occupation of Syrian territories.
“It must be declared loudly that Israel’s occupation of Syrian territories is unacceptable,” he said.