Turkish president emphasises strong support for Syria's territorial integrity in Eid al-Fitr address

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that Turkiye would not allow the sabotage of Syria’s territorial integrity and the festering of instability across its southern border, Anadolu news agency reported.

In a statement for Eid al-Fitr — the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan – Erdogan highlighted that Turkiye would “continue the work we have initiated in line with our ‘Turkiye without terrorism’ goal in accordance with our road map.

He warned that Ankara did not have “unlimited patience” on the issue and he expects the PKK/YPG terror groups to dissolve themselves and “lay down arms completely without any further delay.”

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK — which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a “terrorist organisation”, the US and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 victims, including women, children and infants. The YPG/PYD, which also uses the name SDF, is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Turkiye, while the YPG/PYD has tried to establish a terror corridor in northern Syria along Turkiye’s borders.

READ: Turkiye vows to protect Syria’s territorial integrity