Turkey will continue to protect its rights and interests in the face of regional instability and allies' failure to display solidarity with the cou
Turkey will continue to protect its rights and interests in the face of regional instability and allies’ failure to display solidarity with the country against terrorist organizations, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Monday.
“When Turkey tries to protect its rights and interests in NATO, the bloc should not consider this attitude as against it. YPG is no different than PKK and it is out of the question for Turkey to ignore this fact,” Akar told the Anadolu Agency’s Editor’s Desk.
Highlighting Turkey’s critical role in the alliance, Akar said the country’s southern borders are the bloc’s southern borders, so by protecting its borders, Turkey guarantees the security of NATO and Europe.
Akar reiterated Turkey’s concern regarding the terrorist PKK’s Syrian offshoot the People’s Protection Units (YPG), saying that the two groups are the same.
“The YPG is a terrorist organization and the whole world will recognize this,” he said.
Akar noted that Turkey exercises its right to defense in the face of YPG attacks in the eastern and western fronts, while the country has taken almost complete control of an area 145-kilometer-wide, 30-kilometer-deep in Operation Peace Spring.
Referring to a recent Gallup pool in Syria’s Raqqa and Hasakah provinces, Akar said 57% of the people support Turkey’s operation.
Regarding Greece’s expulsion of the Libyan ambassador over a recent maritime deal with Turkey, Akar said it will not affect the outcome.
“We suggest that Greece approaches the matter with calm, logic and wisdom, and takes into consideration international law,” the defense minister said, highlighting that the agreement is fully in line with international law. He noted that the deal was not signed against any neighbors, but rather to protect Libya and Turkey’s rights and interests in Eastern Meditarrenean.
On Nov. 27, Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) signed the bilateral memorandum after a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and GNA head Fayez Al Sarraj, took place in Istanbul. The deal enables Turkey to secure its rights in the Mediterranean while preventing any fait accompli maneuvers by other regional states.
The memorandum asserts Turkey’s rights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the face of unilateral drilling attempts by the Greek Cypriot administration, clarifying that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also has rights to resources in the area.
Fellow regional actor, Greece, did not welcome the deal and even regarded it as a violation of its own rights, though international law deems otherwise. Athens later said it would expel its Libyan envoy Mohamed Younis AB Menfi from the country in response.