Türkiye won’t accept initiatives to divide Syria
Serkan Demirtaş - ANKARA
Türkiye has reiterated that it won’t allow any initiative that would result in the division of Syria’s political and territorial integrity and sovereignty, in a clear message that comes following a meeting of Kurdish groups in northern Syria last week.
“Türkiye does not accept any initiative that targets Syria’s territorial integrity, undermines its sovereignty, allows the existence of armed groups that are not part of the central authority and paves the way for the continuation of the presence of terror organizations,” said diplomatic sources on May 1.
The warning came days after the Kurdish groups held a congress in northern Syria to discuss their future moves following an agreement between the Syrian government and YPG, which makes the majority of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Sources recalled that the Syrian government has voiced its opposition to some of the messages conveyed by the Kurdish groups and recalled that protecting Syria’s territorial integrity and unity is both Syria’s and Türkiye’s priority.
It is crucially important that unity in Syria will be reached by pledging equal citizenship to all the Syrian communities under a central government as underlined in the constitutional declaration, the Turkish sources recalled.
“Türkiye wants to see the creation of an environment that provides equal opportunities to all different ethnic and religious groups by the Syrian government and the constitution. Türkiye does not accept any initiative that would hinder the making of a system in which Syrian citizens can benefit from equal rights and freedoms and expose their identities and faiths without any hesitation,” underlined Turkish sources.
Struggling against terror elements and separatist movements is the primary responsibility of the Syrian government and Türkiye has created a suitable environment for the resolution of existing problems through ways Damascus prefers to handle them, added the sources.
“Türkiye’s expectation is the implementation of the agreement reached between the Syrian administration and the SDF in a way to prevent the terror-affiliated groups from becoming politically and militarily effective,” they underlined.
The sources also recalled the ongoing efforts to create a terror-free Türkiye and repeated Ankara’s expectation from PKK to respond positively to a call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to lay down its arms and dissolve the terror organization.
“Should the PKK and its affiliations not dissolve themselves, there is necessary will and means for the elimination of the terror organization through other ways,” sources stressed.
As for counterterrorism efforts, Türkiye, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon have recently formed a platform composed by their foreign and defense ministries as well as intelligence organizations. They are expected to create a joint operation center in Syria for fighting terrorism, including the ISIL terrorist organization.
“In addition, Syria may prefer to sign agreements with any other country if it sees concerns over its security. Likewise, Türkiye may lend support to Syria on many issues the latter needs in line with bilateral agreements,” stressed the Turkish sources.
