Fighting terrorism is a crucial dimension in settling the crisis in war-torn Syria, Türkiye’s ambassador to the U.N. said Wednesday at a Security Council meeting to discuss the current situation in Syria.
"It must be a priority for all of us to commit to the protection of Syria's political unity and territorial integrity. Elimination of threats to neighboring countries is also of critical importance," said Sedat Önal.
Noting the legitimate right of self-defense emanating from the U.N. Charter, Önal stressed: "Türkiye will continue to fight terrorism in Syria in all its forms and manifestations and disrupt the destabilizing and separatist agendas of the likes of Daesh and PKK/YPG."
The envoy shared Türkiye's concerns about the recent cease-fire violations in Idlib, and said, "Any escalation has to be avoided to preempt new humanitarian tragedies."
Responding to references given about Türkiye's role in hosting refugees, Önal said: "My country has been generously sheltering millions of Syrians for more than a decade and remains the world's largest refugee hosting country."
"Facilitation of voluntary, safe and dignified return of the Syrian refugees should be an integral part of our overall efforts to settle the Syrian crisis. Therefore, we need to increase our engagement for the creation of conditions that are conducive for the fulfillment of these criteria," he said.
"As we discussed in this chamber two days ago, the unimpeded delivery of the U.N. cross-border humanitarian assistance remains vital for millions of people in need in northwest Syria," he added.
U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the Security Council about the need to redouble efforts to secure sufficient humanitarian resources.
"We need support for all pillars, including enhancing early recovery in the Humanitarian Response Plan and for refugees and host countries," said Pedersen.
"It remains critical that any adverse effects of sanctions that could aggravate the predicament of ordinary Syrians be avoided and mitigated," he added.
"It is essential that the U.N. and its partners continue providing cross-border humanitarian assistance, at the necessary scale and in a principled manner that allows engagement with all parties, for the purposes of seeking humanitarian access, and in a manner that safeguards the U.N.'s operational independence," he said.
Türkiye has been home to some 3.7 million Syrians who fled persecution and brutality in their country when the civil war broke out in 2011 after the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. A decade of fighting has left at least half a million Syrians dead and more than 14 million in need of humanitarian aid.
In the country’s north, Ankara helped Assad’s opposition sustain moderate ground against regime forces while starting in 2016, Turkish counterterrorism operations Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Spring Shield liberated swathes of territory from terrorist groups like the PKK and its U.S.-backed Syrian branch, the YPG, and enabled the safe resettlement of civilians.
Some 554,000 Syrians have so far returned from Türkiye to the region now improved with new schools, hospitals, organized industrial sites and better infrastructure. Returns have also increased following the twin earthquakes that left over 56,000 dead combined in southern Türkiye and northern Syria.
More than 6 million Syrians now live in nearly 107,000 briquette homes erected in Afrin.
Türkiye will be soon launching a comprehensive plan dubbed the "Aleppo model" to repatriate more Syrians to their homeland, according to recent reports in Turkish media.
Türkiye has already joined forces with Qatar to build some fully equipped 240,000 homes across Idlib and Afrin regions over the next three years. The joint "Voluntary, Safe, Honorable Return Project" broke ground in May in Jarablus, a city belonging to Aleppo just south of the Turkish border.
The Aleppo model aims to solve housing problems and unemployment by bolstering agricultural, commercial and industrial infrastructure while supplying social equipment from education to health care in not just the border area but across Syria. Ankara is currently in talks with Damascus and Moscow for its implementation.
Additionally, Türkiye is also a vocal backer of the U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
Assad’s insistence on ignoring the political method, however, still poses a major problem for the return of his citizens.
In May, the U.N.’s envoy to Syria said some Syrians intended to return within the next year due to a lack of job opportunities and other reasons, including safety, in the countries they are seeking asylum, like Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt.