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    Categories: 2017

Turkish Press: Turkey sees Nusra Front as main ‘issue’ in post-IS Syria

Hurriyet, Turkey
Nov 2 2017


Turkey sees Nusra Front as main 'issue' in post-IS Syria



The al-Nusra terror group will be the main issue to deal with in Syria
in the post-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (IS) period, Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, stressing that targeting
al-Nusra constitutes the "real pillar" of the ongoing Turkish-Russian
operation in rebel-held Idlib.

"After Daesh [an Arabic acronym for Islamic State militant group, IS],
the real issue will be local terror organisations such as al-Nusra.
Some [local groups] will recede while others [IS] will go away
entirely. We want locals to return to their lands in Iraq and Syria.
We encourage moderate opposition groups, the Free Syrian Army [FSA],
to stake a claim on their lands," Erdogan told reporters while
returning from a trip to Azerbaijan late on 31 October.

"This is the fact lying behind the operations we are carrying out with
Russia," Erdogan said.

Ankara and Moscow are co-operating to monitor the ceasefire between
the Syrian regime and opposition groups in the Idlib province of Syria
as part of the Astana Process. Much of Idlib has been under the
control of al-Nusra-linked groups since July.

Recalling that IS had to remove its forces to Deir al-Zour, an
oil-rich region in southern Syria, after leaving Raqqa, Erdogan said
"Deir al-Zour must be cleared of Daesh."

"There are currently around 2,000 Daesh members in Iraq and it
controls only 10 percent of the territory. It is nearly finished and
is running away from there. We will see whether its members will
escape to Africa, the United States, or Europe," he added.

'Solidarity between Turkey and Russia'

As part of the deal in Astana, Turkey is monitoring the ceasefire
inside Idlib and Russia outside the province, and Erdogan said Turkey
is "in solidarity with Russia on Idlib."

"This will also cover Afrin province. Because Afrin could present
threats to us at any moment. Members of the separatist terror
organisation may try to reach the Mediterranean through the north by
occupying Idlib," he added, referring to the People's Protection Units
(YPG), which controls the Afrin canton along the Turkish border.
Turkey designates the YPG as a terror organisation that is the Syrian
branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey will "never allow the YPG to expand its influence in the
region," Erdogan vowed.

Recalling that Turkey has troops inside Syria even though it has not
been invited by the Syrian state, he noted that the Russians have five
bases in Syria while the U.S. has "five aerial and eight other bases"
there at present.

"I always tell this to those who ask why we are there: There are
terror organisations harassing us from [inside Syria]. We may stage
cross-border operations against them any moment. Manbij, for example,
is fully under the control [of the YPG]," he said.

Talks with Abadi

Erdogan also touched on his talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi in Ankara last week, stressing that the fight against the PKK
was among the issues discussed.

"Armed action against the PKK by the Iraqi central government is out
of the question at the moment. Its priority is Daesh and it does not
want to engage in such a thing before Daesh is fully cleared. But they
have assured us that they will do whatever is necessary to disarm the
separatist terror organisation," he said, adding that Turkey "will not
have to wait for the central Iraqi government in operations against
the PKK.

"We can launch cross border operations if anything negative happens
toward our country, or in the event of a provocation. I have also
explained what needs to be done so that we do not feel obliged to
act," he said.

With the handover of the Ibrahim Khalil border gate to the control of
the Baghdad government from the KRG, Turkey will be able to deliver
humanitarian aid to northern Iraq, Erdogan said, hinting that the aid
may also be sent through Iran, which currently has five border gates
with Iraq.

"Both Iran and Iraq have told us this is possible. We are leaning
toward delivering aid through the central government, since we don't
regard the KRG as our counterpart," he added.

On KRG President Masoud Barzani's recent decision to step down as
leader after the KRG independence attempt failed, Erdogan stressed the
importance of Iraq remaining a "federal entity."

"We think that such integration will benefit all Iraqi people. You see
the recent developments with Catalonia in Spain. Where did the person
who attempted to divide Spain flee? To Belgium," he said.

'Turkmens should return to Telafer'

President Erdogan also stressed the importance of seeing the return of
Iraqi Turkmens to Tel Afar, a northern Iraqi town that was liberated
from IS in early 2017.

"There are around 400,000 Turkmens in Tal Afar. Half of them are
Shiites, half of them Sunnis. Around 100,000 of them fled to Turkey
and the rest are in nearby regions. Our aim is to let them return to
their homes," he said.

Erdogan also addressed his talks with Azerbaijan President Ilham
Aliyev in Baku, noting that the two countries will co-commemorate the
centennial foundation of the Caucasus Islamic Army in 2018.

"Our Azerbaijani brothers wish to build a monument in Gallipoli, so we
have issued necessary instructions to our ministry for the allocation
of a proper site in Gallipoli. Necessary works are now underway," he
said.

Gallipoli on Turkey's northwestern coast was the scene of a major
battle between the Ottoman Empire and the British-led allied forces
during the First World War, which resulted in the defeat of the
latter. The site hosts a number of memorials and monuments in memory
of Turkish, British, French and Anzac soldiers who fought in the
Dardanelles in 1915 and 1916.

Meeting with Putin

The Turkish president said he also discussed the decades-old
Nagorno-Karabakh issue with Aliyev, pledging that Turkey will continue
to stand with Azerbaijan on this issue.

"I will discuss this issue directly with [Russian President Vladimir]
Putin either next week or the week after next. It seems a result on
this issue will be facilitated if Putin really engages with it," he
added.

Elizabeth Jabejian:
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