President Erdoğan reiterates determination for Syria operation

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once again vowed on Aug. 8 to launch a military operation against the YPG group in northern Syria.

“We will continue our fight against terrorism. We will unite the rings of the security belt by clearing the last areas where the terrorist organization is nesting in Syria,” Erdoğan said addressing the 13th Ambassadors’ Conference.

“Our decision to establish a 30-kilometer-deep secure line along our southern border remains,” he added.

Elaborating on Finland and Sweden’s NATO bid, the president said that Türkiye will not approve the memberships of the Nordic countries if the promises made at the Madrid summit are not fulfilled.

“The membership of the states in which PKK members run wild in the streets will harm the values that NATO stands for. We maintain our clear and determined position regarding Finland and Sweden,” he said.

“No NATO country should be a safe haven for FETÖ’s cowards and PKK terrorists fleeing Turkish justice,” the president stated.

Elaborating on Israel’s attacks on Gaza, Erdoğan said, “There can be no excuse for killing children, babies in swaddling clothes. Türkiye stands by the Palestinian people and their Gazan brothers.”

Citing to Türkiye’s natural gas discovery in the Black Sea, Erdoğan said the country’s 4th drilling ship, named Abdülhamid Han, will sail from Mersin Taşucu port to the region on Aug. 9.

“To date, we have not allowed any action to be taken in our jurisdictions despite us, and we will not do so in the future,” he said elaborating on the natural gas reserves around Türkiye.

The president called on the ambassadors to take necessary action for the activities of the PKK and FETÖ groups against Türkiye in foreign countries, so that the country can go to the next elections properly.

“You have a great responsibility to organize the elections in a way that befits our country and our democracy. You must not allow FETÖ and PKK to poison the process. We believe that we will turn 2023 into a festival of democracy abroad with your support, and I thank you in advance for your efforts,” Erdoğan stated.

Türkiye has been one of the rare countries that have successfully managed the biggest healthcare crisis of the past century, Erdoğan said.

“I once again wholeheartedly congratulate you, our ambassadors who have made our people proud by working selflessly in terms of both evacuating our citizens from other countries and delivering the aid. We aim to display the success we have achieved here in defusing the tensions and establishing peace,” he stated.