Türkiye to complete 30-kilometer-deep security corridor: Erdoğan

ŞANLIURFA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Türkiye will “definitely” complete a 30-kilometer-deep security corridor along its southern border with Syria.

The attacks will not deter the country from its determined stance on securing its southern border, Erdoğan said on Dec. 3 while speaking in the southern province of Sanliurfa.

“We will definitely complete the 30-kilometer-deep security strip we are establishing across our southern borders. The attacks, committed by the terrorist organization and its puppeteers against our security forces and innocent civilians, will never steer us away from our determination,” he stated.

“You see the instabilities, fights, conflicts, disasters, sufferings and oppression caused by them in the region. If you are weak, there will be many outsiders who will stir up problems,” the president said.

“You see those, who come from thousands of kilometers away and show their flag, conduct proxy wars in this region for their own security and wealth. On top of that, they are also opposing Türkiye’s efforts to secure its own borders and the lives of its citizens because they do not care about the Kurds, Arabs, Turks, or other principal peoples of this ancient geography. All they care about is their own political and economic interests,” Erdoğan stated.

As the world struggles with numerous crises, including the pandemic and war, Türkiye has not only proven the strength of its infrastructure but also made everyone, enemy or foe, accept its capability to build the Century of Türkiye, he said. “We are realizing Türkiye’s maximum potential in all areas, from production to diplomacy.”

He stressed that the government will absolutely accomplish the Türkiye Economy Model and leave behind the problems that have been for some time making Turkish people’s lives difficult, Erdoğan said.

“We will achieve one by one the political and economic goals of our vision for the Century of Türkiye and make our country one of the top 10 economies in the world,” Erdoğan said.

Turkish military began massive air operations against the PKK and its Syrian affiliate, YPG, in northern Syria following a bomb attack on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue on Nov. 13, killing six people and injuring 81.

On Nov. 23, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled that the air strikes are only the beginning and a land operation will be launched in towns on the west of the Euphrates river.