Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that his country’s troops will not withdraw from northern Iraq and Syria at this time.
In an interview, he said: “Our withdrawal from northern Iraq and northern Syria means the cessation of our military operations against terrorism and the approach of terrorists to our borders, and this represents a threat to our national security”, given that “terrorist organizations will fill the vacuum that will arise if Turkish forces withdraw from northern Syria, and that national and border security is very important to Ankara,” he said.
Cavusoglu stressed: “We do not seek to cut off part of the Syrian lands, and we cannot leave the north of Syria until security is ensured and full stability returns to these areas.”
When asked about the possibility of a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he said: “Yes, the possibility of a meeting exists, but first a roadmap for this meeting must be prepared, which includes not setting preconditions, studying political scene, the fight against terrorism and the establishment of stability in Syria.
He added: “Communication with the Syrian regime is useful if we want to return the Syrian refugees, if we want to continue to fight terrorism more effectively and if we want to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria”, stressing that if stability is not established in Syria, negative there will be consequences for Turkey. They will be big.
He pointed out that Turkey does not trust the US and France in the fight against terrorism, pointing out that Washington continues to support the BPC/YPG terrorists.
The Turkish minister’s statement was made on the eve of the meeting of the defense ministers and intelligence leaders of Syria, Russia, Turkey and Iran in Moscow.
Source: “Anatolia”
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