President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded to journalists' questions on the plane returning to Turkey from Jordan. He commented on the Afrin operation, the latest developments with Iran, the EU’s unjust attitude toward Turkey, weapons given to PKK/PYD by the U.S., the fight against FETÖ and efforts to renew the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.
“We were able to talk with the Iranian Chief of General Staff Muhammad Bagheri about the de-escalation zones in Syria and what Iran’s position would be. Afrin is currently the PYD’s project to open up to the Mediterranean. Turkey will not allow a terror corridor to be opened to the Mediterranean through northern Syria,” said Erdoğan.
The president spoke regarding military action in Syria’s Afrin and Idlib.
“We will do whatever is necessary. That’s why the Operation Euphrates Shield was conducted. When we entered al-Bab, an area of 2,000 square kilometers was cleared. It’s not over yet. Now Afrin is being discussed. We are just as determined for the Afrin operation. Everything is progressing as planned so far. But that’s not all. There’s also Idlib. Negotiations and consultations regarding Idlib are continuing,” he said.
“What’s important for us is to not allow terrorism. There are Kurds in Afrin who support Turkey. There are tribes that can move with us. If there is a chance of terrorism over there, we will do what’s necessary. This should be known,” Erdoğan said.
“On one hand there is the Hatay-Turkey border and on the other side there is the crossing to Idlib. In that regard, Afrin is a very important region. We will not be the slightest bit flexible in that sense. Just as we discussed this with Russia, we also discussed this with Iran,” he continued.
The president also spoke about the military equipment the U.S. is sending to terrorist organizations. Turkey has repeatedly objected to U.S. arms being sent to terrorist groups.
“U.S. weapons are transported through the Iraqi border to northern Syria. This may have exceeded 1,000 trucks. They have armored vehicles, weapons and ammunition in abundance, but we do not know the details,” Erdoğan said.
“The U.S. said that they had the serial numbers of all the armored vehicles, and that after the Raqqa operation, they would retrieve them. At the G20 summit, I told Trump and his generals that the U.S. said the same thing for north Iraq. We see the U.S. and Russia in the weapons that the PKK brings from north Iraq. I told them the same thing is bound to recur, as they give them for free the types of things they don’t sell to us,” he added.
“Iran is disrupted by PJAK. Although we may have our differences, Iran is pushing for a joint fight against terrorist. This can happen in Qandil and Sinjar. When referring to Sinjar, they are pointing to Hashd Shaabi,” Erdoğan said.
Iranian Chief of General Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri recently visited Turkey with a high-ranking delegation, and the trip ended with the promise of joint military cooperation.
“Our foreign minister will visit Baghdad and Erbil. We do not believe a referendum is the right move. Such a referendum means the division of Iraq. It is better to focus on successfully running a regional government. Many developed countries have said that they do not find the referendum to be right. Turkey does not support it, and neither do Islamic countries,” said Erdoğan.
The non-binding referendum, scheduled for Sept. 25, will see residents of the Kurdish region vote on whether or not to declare independence from the central Iraqi government in Baghdad.
“A step in the direction of a referendum is a step toward loneliness. Moreover, their referendum decision must be approved by the Iraqi central government. A referendum that is not endorsed by the central government, the federal parliament is nothing but an idler pulley,” said Erdoğan.
Baghdad rejects the referendum, saying it could adversely affect the fight against Daesh. The Iraqi government also maintains that the poll would violate Iraq’s 2005 constitution and would be of no benefit, politically or economically, to the region’s Kurds.
“Germany will continue like this until the election. After the election, they will either look for ways to continue to do good work with Turkey or wait until the 2019 election. If Germany and other European countries do not make a move for the customs union, then Turkey has nothing to lose,” said the president.
Turkey has slammed Germany comments on halting the expansion of a customs union between Turkey and the EU, stating that one country cannot dictate the policy of the EU.
“We fulfilled our responsibility but the EU did not fulfill its commitments. The EU still has not kept its promise regarding visa liberation. Neither have they fulfilled their promise regarding the funds for refugees. Unfortunately some EU member states are not acting prudently regarding Turkey. What’s important is that Turkey stands tall,” said Erdoğan.
After a Fetullah Terror Organization (FETÖ) defendant showed up to a trial wearing a T-shirt reading “Hero,” sparking public outrage, Turkish authorities decided to develop a uniform for the suspects.
“Preparations are underway for standard issue uniforms. Approximately 70,000 uniforms will be made. New prisons and changes to existing prisons are also being made. The standard issue uniforms will be worn during the court proceedings,” Erdoğan said.
“We are working on some renewals and shuffles in the districts. We will see it in the 2019 elections. We are in the preparation phase. There's excitement within the party. If we go to an early election, it will be a waste,” said Erdoğan.
