Erdoğan: We Maintain Low-Level Foreign Policy With Syria

Photo: Murat Kula - Ankara/AA

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Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made statements on March 31 local elections, the recent developments in Syria and the coup attempt on July 15, 2016 on the state-run TRT.

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's statements:

"We will meet with Putin on February 14"

"We will meet with Mr. Putin [Vladimir, President of Russia] in Sochi on February 14.

"The progress in Syria; Jarablus, Afrin, İdlib... It gets better every day. People of Syria should find the opportunity to go back to these areas."

"CHP may have a common denominator with HDP"

"What is there in the soul of July 15? There is a struggle between who are really nationalists, patriots and who are the enemies of the nation, enemies of the homeland.

"Those who participate [in protests] at that night are the grassroots of AKP and MHP (Nationalist Movement Party). I always say one thing; we have common denominators with MHP. We do not have such denominators with others.

"CHP may have common denominators with HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party). But I do not regard it as possible that İYİ Party or Saadet (Felicity Party) get together with them. But interests have brought them together."

"More FETÖ operations to come"

"FETÖ (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, which is held responsible for the coup attempt on July 15, 2016) is not totally purged yet. There are many operations to come."

"It is in the state. It is in various institutions of the state. It is in our police, our army, it is everywhere.

"So it is not easy. It is like a metastasis. It spread the whole body."

"I wish that the US will withdraw"

"We will always be with the people of Syria. For the east of the Euphrates, Mr. Trump said 'We will withdraw, we are withdrawing.'

"I wish that they will get this done in a short time. Because we do not want to live under threat. "

"We do not trust the coalition forces"

"We maintain a low-level foreign policy with Syria.

"Even with your enemies, you should not break ties completely. You might need that tie one day.

"It is not possible for Turkey to trust the anti-ISIS coalition in Syria. We confirm this by our past experiences.

"We cannot leave this secure zone, this buffer zone to the coalition. We need to live in security." (EKN/VK)