Erdoğan vows to create terror-free Türkiye in upcoming period

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated once again that his government will continue its works to create a terror-free Türkiye in the coming period and eliminate all terror organizations in Syria as well.

“By using all the means that our state has, we will realize our goal of [creating] a terror-free Türkiye in the coming period,” Erdoğan said in his address at his Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) group at the parliament on Dec. 25.

“We will remove those build a wall between us and Kurdish brothers,” Erdoğan stressed, referring to the PKK terror organization which killed more than 40.000 people since the 1980s.

The terror organization is using northern Iraq as its main headquarters after its capacity on the Turkish territories has almost been eliminated through counterterrorism campaigns by the Turkish army.

The AKP and its main political ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which makes the People’s Alliance, have recently echoed calls on the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and other Kurdish figures to press on PKK to dissolve itself and end the armed conflict.

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli has also proposed the release of jailed PKK ringleader Abdullah Öcalan so that he can call on PKK to lay down arms.

“Although there are those who cannot digest our bonds [with the Kurds], we, as the People’s Alliance, are committed to walk on this path,” Erdoğan stressed.

President Erdoğan has also touched on the recent developments in Syria as he described the fall of the Assad regime as the success of the Syrian people after 13 years of suffering.

Türkiye will extend its help to the new administration in Syria in all ways, including the protection of territorial integrity and political unity of Syria, Erdoğan vowed.

“Those who try to benefit from this situation in Syria will find us against them along with the Syrian people,” he said, referring to the terror organizations, including ISIL and YPG.

“We are determined to wipe out all the terror organizations, particularly DAESH and PKK [in Syria]. These separatist murderers will either lay down arms or be buried in Syria with their guns in their hands,” he vowed.

“And DAESH is a threat to Syria, to us and to the entire region which needs to be eliminated,” Erdoğan stated, recalling that the only NATO country that fought against this terror group was Türkiye.

Turks, Kurds and all other religious and ethnic groups live in the region and share a common past and future, Erdoğan said, underlining that Türkiye’s sole aim is to see a region where peace and stability prevail.

On the future of Syria, Erdoğan hailed the messages and acts of the new administration led by Ahmad al-Shara and called on all the Arab nations and Islamic countries to lead international efforts for the reconstruction of the country.