Around 700-800 SDF Members Have Withdrawn, Says President Erdoğan

* Photo: Mehmet Ali Özcan/AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the reporters before leaving Ankara for Sochi, where he will meet President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

Speaking at the Esenboğa Airport before his departure, Erdoğan indicated that they would discuss the latest developments in Syria with Putin.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), President Erdoğan also shared information about the 120-hour pause of the Operation Peace Spring as agreed with the US. Erdoğan stated that around 700-800 members of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have withdrawn from the area so far and the remaining 1,200-1,300 are also planning to retreat.

Other highlights from Erdoğan's speech were as follows:

'If the US doesn't keep its promises...'

"We will discuss the developments in Syria with Putin. We have articulated it quite clearly that we will not allow a terror corridor along the Syrian border. An area of 2 thousand 200 kilometers has been cleared of terror.

"According to the agreement that we have reached with the US, today is the last day for all terrorists to be removed from the region. If the promises given to us by the US are not kept, we will continue our operation where we left off, this time with great determination.

'Around 2 million people can be settled there'

"As the north of Syria gets more safe, more people will naturally return. Around 2 million people can be resettled there on a voluntary basis. We have calculated the costs, we have prepared our projects. We also told it to the 17 leaders that I met at the United Nations.

"In this critical process Syria has been going through, we aim to further increase our cooperation with Russia. Terrorist organizations such as the PKK/YPG do not have a place in the future of Syria and they will not do so.

"We will make the necessary meetings to ensure that the presence of terrorist organizations in regions controlled by the regime is ended. In our meetings, I will also underline that the peace in Idlib should be maintained.

"Withdrawal continues now. As of this moment, 700-800 [people] have withdrawn and it is said that the remaining group of 1,200-1,300 will also retreat quickly. We are, of course, tracing them. All of them will leave [the region]; otherwise, this process will not end."

Statement on Iran

In response to a question regarding dissenting voices coming from Iran about Turkey's operation, President Erdoğan said, "They should have been silenced in the first place by Dear [President of Iran Hassan] Rouhani. It seriously bothers all my fellow friends and me personally.

"Then, how will we manage this process that started with Astana process and continues with Sochi agreement? Do the ones who partook in this process betray one another? I strongly condemn them regarding this issue.

Alleged meeting of Macron, Merkel, Johnson

Regarding a meeting to be allegedly held with President of France Emmunuel Macron, President of Germany Angela Merkel and Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson, Erdoğan stated the following:

"There is no such plan. It was proposed to us in our meeting with Dear [Boris] Johnson. I told them that such a meeting could, of course, be made on the condition that it would be held in İstanbul, Gaziantep or Şanlıurfa. The NATO leaders summit will be held in London on December 3-4. We said that this meeting could also be held there." (AÖ/SD)