Turkey is committed to international law and has no claims to Syrian territories, but will not tolerate increased terrorist activities in that country, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
"Turkey has been strictly observing international law from the very beginning of the Syrian conflict. We have been on the side of freedom, dialogue, justice and peace in Syria. Despite the hostile attitude on the part of Syria’s state regime, we have been advocating the principle of Syria’s territorial integrity and oneness. We have no territorial claims to Syria. But we will not tolerate the activity of Syrian arms of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party there. We are keeping a close eye on them," he said after a government meeting.
"Turkey's calls on the [Syrian President Bashar Assad] regime to find ways of resolving the Syrian conflict through dialogue were arrogantly turned down by the former regime, which showed zero appreciation for Turkey holding out a helping hand," he noted.
"Turkey is not interested in territories and is not seeking to infringe upon the sovereignty of a foreign state. The only goal of our transborder operations is to protect our home country and people against terrorist attacks. Neither the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (outlawed in Turkey) nor Islamic State (outlawed in Russia as a terrorist organization) are dialogue partners for our country. On the contrary, they are our opponents. Our duty as neighbors and brothers is to strongly support the Syrian people’s efforts toward reviving their country," Erdogan stressed.
According to the Turkish leader, his country will spare no effort to reach lasting peace, stability and security in Syria.
