Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated Turkey’s long-standing opposition to Kurdish territorial gains in northeast Syria, in light of the local elections announced by the Autonomous Administration for 11 June.
He emphasised Turkey’s vigilance in monitoring perceived provocations that threaten both Turkish and Syrian territorial integrity under the guise of electoral processes.
“We are closely monitoring the provocative actions masked as a referendum by the terrorist organisation, which threatens both our land and Syria’s sovereignty,” Erdoğan claimed. “Turkey will never permit the establishment of a terror state in the north of Syria and Iraq. We have consistently taken necessary actions against any fait accompli and will not hesitate to act should the situation arise again.”
Earlier, this sentiment was echoed by pro-government commentator Abdülkadir Selvi, who argued that Turkey must do whatever it takes to obstruct these elections to protect its interests.
Erdoğan also indicated a readiness to expand dialogue and cooperation with all parties respecting Turkey’s interests, alluding to recent efforts to strengthen international relationships. “We have embarked on numerous significant initiatives recently to expand our circle of friends. We hope to continue our progress through new openings,” he remarked, recalling the former ‘zero problems with neighbours’ policy of the Ahmet Davurtoğlu era, which ironically ended in a ‘no neighbours without problems’ environment for Turkey.
The Turkish President further escalated his stance on the Kurdish issue: “The pretext of fighting ISIS no longer carries any weight with us,” he declared, suggesting Turkey might intervene in response to developments in northeast Syria.
Erdoğan’s remarks come as the Kurdish-led autonomous administration prepares for municipal elections in areas including Heseke, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and eastern Aleppo. While Turkey views the Kurdish forces in northern Syria as extensions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), these groups have gained international recognition for their role in the coalition against ISIS, often putting them at odds with Turkish policy.
In response to Erdoğan’s comments, 33 political parties and organisations came together in North and East Syria to refute the claims of the Turkish President.
“The Turkish regime continues to threaten the region with intervention and occupation, claiming that the Autonomous Administration project is a separatist project, despite the fact that in the program of any of the parties participating in establishing the administration, there is no clause calling for separation,” they said in their statement.
“We, in the political parties and forces that signed this statement, confirm once again that there is no clause or intention to secede from Syria in the Autonomous-administration project that we established, but rather we always call for preserving and defending its unity,” the parties affirmed.
