Erdogan Admits Direct Support for Terrorists in Syria

“If it were not due to the support of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the militants in Syria, they could not have achieved anything,” Erdogan said on Sunday, Turkish-language daily Hurriyat reported.

He noted that Ankara, Riyadh and Doha have supplied military and logistical backup for the terrorists.

Erdogan’s remarks came as his Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied any cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia in supporting the foreign-backed terrorists.

His remarks came after certain Arab media claimed that Turkey is paving the ground for military intervention in Syria amid the Syrian army and Kurdish forces’ united operations to defend their lands against the ISIL in the Northeastern city of Hasaka.

“The Turkish government is not entitled to interfere in the domestic affairs of Syria and disrespect Syria’s territorial integrity under any pretext,” Yakış told the Turkish media.

The former Turkish foreign minister reiterated that Turkish military operation in Syria would be an invasion of a neighboring country.

He pointed to Turkey’s military operation in Cyprus in 1974 and its negative consequences, and said, ““Only a UNSC decision would legitimize such an incursion.”

Earlier this week, former Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces Mehmet Ilker Basbug also called on Ankara to revise its policies and support President Bashar al-Assad’s government in settling the crisis in Northern Syria.

“Fighting the ISIL in Northern Syria should be pursued by the Syrian government forces,” Basbug said.

He asked the Turkish government to improve and normalize relations with the Damascus government, and said, “If Turkey comes to support the central government in Syria, finding a proper solution to settle the crisis in Northern Syria will be easier.”

Last Sunday, the London-based al-Hayat newspaper reported that 12,000 Turkish forces are ready for military intervention in Syria under the pretext of creating a buffer zone to protect the Turkish borders against the threat of the terrorist groups.