Turkish defense minister says army to not leave Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Yaşar Güler, Turkish Minister of Defense, said on Saturday that the Turkish army will not leave Syria “without guaranteeing the security of its border and the safety of its people.”
Güler stressed, in an interview with a Turkish channel, that the most important stage of peace in Syria is the making of a new constitution.
“Turkey sincerely wants peace. But we have sensitivities. It is unimaginable for us to leave Syria without guaranteeing the security of our border and people. I believe the Syrian president will act more reasonably about this topic,” the Turkish official said.
He explained that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “is making the effort of making peace in Syria.”
Earlier, the Turkish president stressed that he was not thinking of withdrawing Turkish forces from Syria. Ankara frequently reiterated that they would not accept preconditions that lead to direct negotiations with the Syrian government, including the withdrawal of its forces from Syrian territories.
In December 2022, Russia hosted the first talks in 11 years between the defense ministers of Turkey and Syria. In May, Russia also hosted a quadripartite meeting between the foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey, Iran and Russia in a pursuit of normalizing ties between Damascus and Ankara.