Ministry of National Defense: The army in Syria, because one-third of the country is under the control of terrorists

ISTANBUL, 31 December – RIA Novosti. The Turkish army is on Syrian territory, as one-third of the country is under the control of terrorists, declaration Hulusi Akar, Minister of National Defense.

According to Minister Sabah, “At the meeting, we emphasized that we support Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and that our sole aim is to fight terrorism. We noted that one-third of Syria is controlled by terrorist organizations.”

“We made it clear that the Turkish army is in Syria to fight the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Kurdish YPG, ISIS and other terrorists and to prevent mass migration,” Akar said. According to him, Ankara agreed to maintain contacts with Damascus after the meeting.

According to the minister, it is only natural that the negotiations took place so late after 11 years. “Many factors and actors come into play here… You cannot expect everything to be decided all at once in this meeting. We told the Syrians (ed.) that we prevented the terror corridor and thus contributed to your territorial integrity.” said.

The Minister noted that it is important to ensure the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their homes.

Citing sources in Damascus, Syrian newspaper Al-Watan previously reported that Ankara had reached an agreement to withdraw its troops from Syrian territory, following a meeting in Moscow between the defense ministers of Turkey, Syria and Russia. The source noted that the parties also discussed the implementation of the 2020 agreement on the M4 highway in northern Syria. According to the source, the parties stressed that the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) formations in Turkey “are agents of Israel and the US and pose the greatest danger to Turkey and Syria.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said earlier that the defense ministers of Russia, Syria and Turkey held tripartite talks in Moscow to discuss ways to resolve the Syrian crisis. “After the meeting, the parties noted the constructive nature of the dialogue in this format and that it should continue to further stabilize the situation in the Arab Republic and the region as a whole,” the ministry said. The media noted that the talks between the heads of military departments in Moscow were the first official talks between Ankara and Damascus in 11 years.

* Terrorist organization banned in Russia