“We don’t want the territory of another country,” Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said Monday as Türkiye and Syria aim to normalize ties after years of tensions.
Güler said Turkish troops would leave Syria once the Assad regime agrees with the opposition on a new constitution and elections, two conditions that may pave the way to end the conflict in the country, which has exceeded a decade.
The Assad regime often mentions the presence of Turkish soldiers in the country’s north as an obstacle to full normalization. Türkiye, however, relies on a military presence in the region against security threats, namely the PKK/YPG terrorist group that controls the northeastern part of Syria, immediately across the Turkish border.
“Our soldiers were martyred in Syria but in the end, people living in the border towns live in peace now,” Güler told the broadcaster NTV.
NATO member Türkiye has backed political and armed opposition to the Assad regime during the 12-year civil war and sent its troops into the country's north to fight terrorist groups like the PKK, its Syrian affiliate, the YPG, and Daesh. It is also hosting more than 3.5 million refugees from its neighbor. Since 2016, Turkish cross-border operations have helped liberate Syria’s northern regions from terrorism and enable the peaceful resettlements of residents.
Turkish officials have recently been floating the idea of cooperating with Damascus on counterterrorism efforts as the PKK/YPG still controls much of the war-torn country’s northeast, making it impossible for Assad to establish territorial integrity. The Assad regime, however, has frequently denounced Türkiye’s operations.
Relations between the two countries began to thaw after the Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed more than 56,000 people combined in both countries and the sides. With Damascus allies Russia and Iran in tow, they have resumed normalization talks. At the same time, Assad has insisted Ankara’s withdrawal from Syrian territory was the only way a normalization could be achieved.
The Turkish president in the meantime has reiterated his willingness to normalize ties while emphasizing Türkiye would not bow to the regime’s demands of leaving northern Syria “as long as terrorists are near our borders.”
“The door is open to Assad but their approach is important. Assad wants Türkiye out of northern Syria. This is out of the question. We are fighting terrorism there,” Erdoğan said in July. He also said that he wondered whether Assad would tell the same thing to “other countries.” He did not elaborate, but Erdoğan was clearly referring to the United States, which maintains a presence in the same region where it openly supports the YPG/PKK under the pretext of fighting Daesh.
Güler echoed Erdoğan’s criticism and said some “friendly countries” were giving “every kind of support” to terrorists. “They even teach how to operate helicopters to terrorists. We are obliged to keep terrorists away from our territories,” he said. Güler, on the other hand, hailed progress in counterterrorism that now “forced terrorists to withdraw to their caves only” as they were unable to move freely. He noted that the number of terrorists surrendering was increasing and this year only, 119 terrorists turned themselves in.
“Senior members of the terrorist group cannot go out. They can’t stay in the same place twice thanks to (cross-border operations),” the minister said.
Güler said the Turkish borders had the utmost security and invited opposition parties criticizing it to the border posts to see the security for themselves. On the opposition’s criticism of the acquisition of S-400 missiles and why they were not used, Güler pointed out that they were for “defense.”
“If someone tries to attack us, they will see what S-400 or other defense systems do,” Güler stated.
The minister also answered questions about the acquisition of Eurofighter Typhoon jets. “It is a good option for us. We are a NATO member but another NATO member opposes us to obtain them,” he said, referring to Germany. The minister, who recently held talks with U.K. officials who backed Türkiye on the matter, said it was unreasonable that an ally of Türkiye opposed the purchase. “We believe other allies will bring Germany to that level (of agreeing with Türkiye).”
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
Türkiye has launched discussions to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from European states after it saw that its request for F-16 jets from the United States may not work out. Türkiye informed Germany that it has “other options” if Berlin rejects the proposal to purchase 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets.
Reports from German media quoted statements by MTU Aero Engines, emphasizing that sealing the agreement with Türkiye is critical for the survival of the defense industry in Germany, the largest economy in Europe.
Türkiye is also working on its own national combat aircraft, KAAN. Güler said KAAN will make its maiden flight as part of the army on Dec. 27.
Unveiled publicly earlier this year, KAAN is one of the most important projects in Türkiye’s history. The warplane made a runway debut and successfully completed its first taxi test after starting its engines for the first time in mid-March. KAAN boasts all technologies and features found in fifth-generation warplanes. It will provide the opportunity to strategically attack air-to-air and air-to-ground targets. It has a completely domestic infrastructure for secure data sharing and the use of smart munitions.
