Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, stated that the nation will not permit the PKK, PYD, or YPG terrorist organization to seek refuge in Syria or Iraq.
We will not permit the PKK, PYD, or YPG to seek refuge in Syria or Iraq. This will absolutely not be allowed by us. “We will do whatever is necessary, no matter what anyone says about it,” Cavusoglu told the parliament in the capital, Ankara, on Monday.
Operation Claw-Sword, Turkey’s cross-border aerial campaign against the PKK/YPG terror group, which has hideouts across Iraqi and Syrian borders from which they plan and sometimes carry out attacks on Turkish soil, was launched last month in northern Iraq and Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also announced a ground operation to eliminate the terror threat in northern Syria and northern Iraq following the start of the air campaign.
Through the intelligence services, we have been negotiating with the Assad regime in Syria for some time. We are prepared to collaborate on the fight against terrorism, the political process, and the return of Syrians if the regime acts realistically. “Alternatively, it is unthinkable,” Cavusoglu stated.
Cavusoglu stated that Türkiye follows the same policy in Iraq and that Ankara offers cooperation in the fight against terrorism to both the central and regional governments of Iraq.
“We will march together and fight terrorism together if our interlocutors listen to our calls. We will pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps if they do not respond,” he added.
40,000 people, including women, children, and infants, have been killed by the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, and the United States. The PKK terrorist organization’s Syrian arm is the PYD/YPG.
Read: Türkiye ‘does not need permission’ for Syria operations against terrorists
Hydrocarbons deal with Libya
Concerning Libya, Cavusoglu stated that Türkiye is still reaping the benefits of its active policy, which it began implementing in the oil-rich nation in 2019.
“You can all see what the hydrocarbon memorandum of understanding has done to Greece, which we signed in October in Tripoli.
“Lybia took steps to uphold the Maritime Jurisdiction Agreement it signed with us last week, in response to Greece’s decision to engage in hydrocarbon activities in the south of Crete,” Cavusoglu stated.
A memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons was signed on October 3 between the Government of National Unity of Libya and Türkiye. The agreement envisions expanding bilateral hydrocarbons scientific, technical, technological, legal, administrative, and commercial cooperation on land and at sea.
Read: Türkiye neutralises 184 PKK/YPG terrorists in cross-border operation
Balances in Eastern Mediterranean
Cavusoglu said that last week, Greece complained to the UN about the deal, adding: “Together with Libya, we conveyed our joint response to this letter to the UN.”
The letter of Athens, which Cavusoglu defines as “purely demagogic,” claimed that the deal violates Greece’s sovereign rights and international law.
“This achievement (signing of MoU) will determine the balances in the Eastern Mediterranean for generations,” Cavusoglu said.
Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.
For lasting stability in Libya, Türkiye deems the holding of free, fair, and nationwide elections as soon as possible crucial, in line with the aspirations of the Libyan people.
Source: AA
