Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that his country cannot allow Syria to be divided again after the fall of the Baath Party regime led by ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
This came in a speech in the capital Ankara during an expanded meeting of the heads of the branches of the “Justice and Development Party” in the Turkish states.
He stated that “the Syrian people crowned their noble uprising with victory, and overthrew the oppressive regime that lasted for decades, and defended their freedom, rights, law and future.”
He added: “Our belief and prayers are that Syria will see bright days after 61 years of the Baath (Party) dictatorship that has been completely dark for the past 13 years.”
The Turkish president expressed his hope that the remaining terrorist organizations such as “ISIS” and “YPG/PKK” will be crushed as soon as possible in other parts of Syria.
He continued: “From now on, we cannot allow Syria to be divided again, and we cannot agree for it to become an arena of conflict again.”
He stressed that “any attack on the stability of the new Syrian administration and the territorial integrity of its state will find us and the people of Syria confronting it.”
Erdogan stressed that his country will always stand by the Syrian immigrants in Turkey who are preparing to return to their country, adding: “Just as we were by their side here as well.”
