Turkish President: We cannot allow Syria to be divided again

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that his country cannot allow Syria to be divided again, after the fall of the Baath Party regime led by ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

This came in a speech in the capital Ankara, during the expanded meeting of the heads of the Justice and Development Party branches in the Turkish states.

President Erdogan said, "The Syrian people crowned their noble uprising with victory, overthrew the decades-long oppressive regime, and defended their freedom, rights, and future."

He added: "Our faith and prayers are that Syria will see bright days after 61 years of Baath dictatorship, which has been completely dark for the past 13 years."

Erdogan pointed out that "the minority regime that the oppressor Assad tried to keep alive for years through oppression, persecution and massacres has now collapsed with the liberation of Damascus on Sunday, December 8," and that "the door to a prosperous and happy future has been opened for Syria and its people."

The Turkish president expressed his hope that the remaining terrorist organizations such as ISIS and YPG/PKK would be crushed as soon as possible in other parts of Syria, which would lead to the complete strengthening of the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

He expressed his belief that any force with a mind and conscience will not continue to deal with terrorist organizations, at a time when the Syrian people are close to restoring their unity.

He stressed that Türkiye will always stand with all its political, diplomatic, economic and military capabilities alongside the Syrian people in this historic struggle.

He noted that Syria belongs to all Syrians, regardless of their sects or ethnicities, expressing his hope that the suffering the country has experienced in the past will illuminate the path towards building a stable, strong and prosperous state in the future.

Erdogan pointed out that Türkiye has sacrificed a lot and made great efforts until the situation in Syria reached its current level.

He explained that Türkiye has protected and cared for the Syrian people for years, to whom everyone turned their backs.

He continued: "From now on, we cannot allow Syria to be divided again, and we cannot agree to it becoming an arena of conflict again."

He stressed that "any attack on the stability of the new Syrian administration and the territorial integrity of its state will find us and the people of Syria confronting it."

Erdogan stressed that his country will always stand by the Syrian immigrants in Türkiye who are preparing to return to their country, adding: "Just as we were by their side here as well."

On the dawn of December 8, the Syrian opposition factions entered the capital, Damascus, and took control of it, with the withdrawal of regime forces from public institutions and streets, thus ending a 61-year era of bloody Baath Party rule and 53 years of Assad family rule.

Source: Anadolu Agency