Turkey’s calls for supporting government serve its own interests – Syria’s AANES
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Recent statement by Turkish foreign minister indicates that “Turkey’s support for the so-called Syrian National Coalition was not in favor of Syrians, but rather to serve Turkey’s policy,” an official of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said, Monday.
On July 27, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, in a televised interview, said “We will provide all kinds of political support for the [Syrian] regime’s work in this regard. It is the natural right of the [Syrian] regime to remove the terrorist organisation from its territory.”
Luqman Ahme, the AANES official spokesman, said that this indicates that if Turkey to take responsibility for any forces’ own affairs, this “will not bring any real democratic change to the Syrians.”
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
Earlier, Ahmad Rahhal, a military expert, told North Press, “Turkey has the right to make any statement that serves its own interests and the interests of its people, but the problem lies with the Syrian opposition, which does not distinguish between its position and those of Turkey.”
Ahme further explained that the intra-Syrian dialogue is a basis for solving Syrian crisis.
He stressed that those parties [opposition] that claim to be against the Syrian regime serve a more dictatorial and repressive agenda of the Turkish regime.
So far, the Syrian government has not commented on the Turkish Foreign Minister’s statement, as it continues to bring in more military reinforcements to areas on Syrian-Turkish border.
Additionally, the government has started military exercises with Russian forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in preparation for any Turkish operation targeting northern Syria.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently announced plans to carry out another major military cross-border incursion into northern Syria. Erdogan specified his targets in the two northern Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat.
On July 1, Erdogan said that Ankara’s new military operation in northern Syria could begin at any moment.
“The time has come to clear these lands from the terrorist organizations,” Erdogan threatened during Tehran Summit.
Tehran Summit, on July 19, brought together presidents of each of Iran, Russia and Turkey with the Syrian issue and Turkish threats on the top of its agenda.