Turkiye’s Overseas Minister Hakan Fidan has denied a declare by incoming United States President Donald Trump that the toppling of Syrian chief Bashar al-Assad was an “unfriendly takeover” by Turkiye.
In remarks apparently praising Ankara, Trump advised a information convention earlier this week that Turkiye was “very sensible” and had carried out “an unfriendly takeover with out lots of lives being misplaced” in Syria.
In an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on Wednesday, the Turkish foreign minister stated it could be “a grave mistake” to explain the present occasions in Syria as a takeover by Turkiye.
“For Syrian individuals, it isn’t a takeover. I feel if there may be any takeover, it’s the need of the Syrian individuals which is taking on now,” Fidan stated.
The international minister additionally stated the “last item” that Turkiye desires is to be seen because the regional energy that has closing management of Syria, pointing to a tradition of domination that had introduced damage to the area.
“Properly, I feel that might be the very last thing that we wish to see as a result of we’re drawing large classes from what’s been taking place in our area, as a result of the domination tradition itself has destroyed our area,” Fidan stated. “Not Turkish domination, not Iranian domination, not Arab domination, however cooperation must be important,” he stated.
“Our solidarity with Syrian individuals shouldn’t be characterised or outlined at the moment as if … we are literally ruling Syria. I feel that might be unsuitable,” he added.
Requested about US media reporting on considerations that the Turkish army could also be ready to launch a significant army offensive in Syria to crush Kurdish forces which can be hostile to Turkiye, the international minister pointed to the YPG (People’s Protection Units) as an “important risk” to his nation.
The Kurdistan Employees’ Occasion (PKK) armed group is listed as a “terrorist organisation” by Turkiye and the West, and Fidan described the YPG because the PKK’s “extension” in Syria.
The YPG has sustained its management over territory in Syria by presenting itself as serving to the West within the combat in opposition to ISIL (ISIS), the international minister stated. “I feel it is a misrepresentation of their true identification. They’re there as a terrorist organisation,” Fidan stated.
“Sadly, our Western pals … flip a blind eye to this incontrovertible fact that the YPG is an extension of the PKK,” he stated, including that Ankara has been calling on Washington to stop its army assist for the Syrian Democratic Forces, of which the YPG is the primary combating part.
Fidan additionally stated that Syria’s new authorities should sort out the difficulty of Kurdish forces in its territory, which might avert the necessity for Ankara to take motion.
“There’s a new administration in Damascus now. I feel that is primarily their concern now. So, I feel if they’re going to, in the event that they deal with this situation correctly, so there could be no purpose for us to intervene,” he stated.
Native witnesses have advised the French information company AFP that there was a rise within the variety of troopers patrolling on the Turkish facet of the border, however uncommon army exercise has not been evident.
Fidan additionally stated that Turkiye recognised the brand new administration in Syria as a “reputable accomplice” for Ankara, which is why the Turkish embassy in Damascus had reopened and the ambassador has been instructed to speak with native and central authorities officers.
Officers from the United Nations, European Union, and different nations have additionally made contact with the brand new administration, Fidan famous, including that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group – whose chief is Ahmed al-Sharaa, additionally known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, is the de facto chief in Syria – must be delisted as a ‘terrorism’ organisation.
“I feel it’s time for the worldwide neighborhood, ranging from UN, you already know, to take away their identify from the terrorism listing,” Fidan stated of HTS, which is the primary part of the coalition at the moment governing Syria.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged over the weekend that Washington is in touch with HTS, and discussions with the group have been within the broad context of the way forward for Syria.
The US State Division positioned HTS on its listing of “international terrorist organisations” in May 2018 resulting from its affiliation with the al-Nusra Entrance, an al-Qaeda affiliate.
Since 2016, HTS’s al-Sharaa has moved to distance the organisation from al-Qaeda and has been positioning himself and HTS as credible caretakers of Syria in a post-Assad interval.