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Erdogan ‘determined to eradicate hotbeds of terrorism in Syria’

July 21, 2022 at 12:16 pm

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R), Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (C) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) pose for a photo during the 7th trilateral summit in Astana format in Tehran, Iran on July 19, 2022. [Mustafa Kamacı – Anadolu Agency]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed on Tuesday that his country is determined to eradicate the “hotbeds of terrorism in Syria” and that it is waiting on Russia and Iran for support in this regard. He made his comment at a tripartite summit with his Russian and Iranian counterparts Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran under the Astana process.

“We are determined to eradicate the evil groups that target our national security from Syria,” Erdogan insisted. “The cities of Tal Rifat and Manbij have become ‘a hotbed of terror’… The time has come to clear these lands of the terrorist organisations seeking a safe haven.”

He pointed out that the “PYD/PKK terror organisation” is trying to divide Syria with external support. “It must be clearly understood that there is no room for separatist terrorism and its extensions in the future of our region.”

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and some of its allies. The government in Ankara insists that, as the Syrian branch of the PKK, the Democratic Union Part (PYD) is thus also a terrorist organisation.

The Turkish president stressed that his country would continue to fight relentlessly against the violent terrorist organisations in the coming period. He explained that “quick and concrete results” by the Syrian Constitutional Committee must be ensured as its failure will be seen as the failure of the Astana process. “The voluntary and safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland is an important agenda item for the process.”

The three presidents gathered for the 7th summit in the Astana format to discuss recent developments in Syria; the fight against terror groups, particularly the YPG/PKK and Daesh/ISIS, which pose a threat to regional security; the humanitarian situation; and the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

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