President Erdoğan on 30 May 2024 pledged that Ankara would not permit the terrorist groups and its ‘sponsors’ to carry out actions against Türkiye from Syria, where they aimed to demonstrate what he called ‘terroristan.’

In a patch of sparsely inhabited land located near a Greek island, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan observed Turkish troops conducting a massive military drill. The president stressed that Türkiye had no intention of seizing any piece of territory from any other country but reiterated his warning that they would not sit idly against terrorist parties, particularly the PKK.

The PKK’s move to maintain “elections” in Syria’s northeast in June in a bid for legality irked Ankara. Erdoğan complained about “prevalent chaos” in Syria and how Syria’s attachment to the terrorist group escalated its danger in the region, intending to set up “a terroristan.” “They are terrorising the local population. They extort them, compel children and drive people out of their hometowns. A sinister conspiracy is afoot and it targets our region. We are closely following measures against Syria’s territorial integrity,” he said.

The PKK, which always announced itself as a “political party,” seeks to gain legitimacy for its Syrian wing, the YPG, via elections in a swathe of land controlled by the terrorist station near the Turkish border. “Türkiye will not permit a ‘terroristan’ across its southern border, in Syria’s north. We accomplished what we should have done and will not pause to retake action,” Erdoğan stated. Türkiye has carried out multiple cross-border operations, accompanying Syrian opposition parties in recent years, to wipe out the existence of terrorist groups Daesh and PKK/YPG in Syria’s north.

Ankara often whines about the United States military support to the PKK/YPG under the guise of combating Daesh in Syria. “We are the only NATO partner fighting Daesh and worked to defeat them. We are well conscious of the plot in motion employing using this terrorist group. We are mindful of this regional plot. We don’t care about what anyone has to express when it comes to the territorial virtue of our country and safety of our nation,” Erdoğan stated.

“We will not bow down to any danger. We believe that the terrorist party and its sponsors will eventually witness that they cannot impose a fait accompli on us,” he said.

“We are on the side of stability and cooperation. We want to live jointly (in peace) with countries in our region. We don’t have a grievance against any country,” Erdoğan added, stressing that Türkiye had no intent on taking grounds from any neighbours and would not turn down “hands” spread to them.

The Assad government has, in the past, slammed Türkiye for its operations against the PKK in Syria, claiming breach of Syria’s sovereignty. Ankara and Damascus recently aimed to normalize relations disrupted following the civil war in Türkiye’s southern neighbour. Recently, Devlet Bahçeli, head of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), provoked Ankara to consider cooperation with the Assad regime to stamp out the PKK in Syria.