ANKARA
A safe zone in Turkey - Syria's border should be under Turkey's control, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
In a televised interview, Erdogan said Turkey is the first country to be affected by the heavy gunfire. “I will take my precaution in the opposite country,” he added.
The Turkish president said and stabilized environment built in Syria’s Afrin, Jarabulus and al-Bab provinces should be sustained in border regions.
“It is important for us that the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria does not lead to developments against the interests of our countries and Syria's political unity and territorial integrity,” Erdogan said, adding that a vacuum after the withdrawal to be replaced by terrorist groups is unacceptable.
Erdogan said the Adana Agreement -- signed between Ankara and Damascus in 1998 – allows Turkish forces to conduct operations inside Syria near the Turkish border.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.
Last December, Trump made a surprise announcement that the U.S. would be withdrawing all of its troops from Syria and said Daesh had been defeated in the country.
“I will never meet with such a person“
Touching upon the latest developments in Egypt, Erdogan asked: “Why our relations with Egypt was cut? Or why we, as high-level leaders, are not talking?”
“This should be checked on,” he said.
Noting that he likes to speak clearly, Erdogan said that people who claimed that they are against coup plotters are greeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi --who ousted Mohammed Morsi -- on red carpets and did not take up a position against al-Sisi.
These countries are similarly behind the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey, Erdogan said. “These countries were behind the July 15 coup attempt. Morsi received 52 percent of the votes, and he was ousted,” he added.
“At the moment, Morsi is still in prison along with his friends. For years, I have always said that al Sisi is a coup plotter [...] Unfortunately, the Western countries are still determined to support coup plotters,” he said.
“This is a crime against humanity,” Erdogan said, adding: “When you look at the figures, at least 42 people were executed since Al-Sisi took power and lately nine young people were executed.”
The Turkish president said that it was unacceptable. “The Amnesty International called for stopping executions. But did they get any result? They did not.”
“Nine young people were executed. Where is the West? Do you hear the voice of the West?” Erdogan asked.
The Turkish president said that there was an “authoritarian, totalitarian” regime in Egypt. He said: “I am responding to those who are asking me why I am not meeting with al-Sisi.”
“I will never meet with such a person. First of all, he needs to release all prisoners with a general amnesty. As long as he does not release those people, we cannot meet with al-Sisi,” he added.
“Those who are in contact with al-Sisi should know this that they will be evaluated in the history in a different way,” he added.
Erdogan described the people of Egypt as "our dearest friends" and underlined that al-Sisi will never be.
Turkey, U.S. leaders may exchange visits
Turkish President said he may visit the U.S., or President Donald Trump may pay a visit to Turkey after March 31 local elections.
Erdogan added that he has a "positive relationship" with U.S. counterpart Trump.
“The U.S hasn’t assigned an ambassador to Ankara for a long time,” Erdogan said. “Now, they assign a name they place importance as an ambassador to Turkey.”
Talking about Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar’s visit to Washington, Erdogan said Syria and bilateral between the two countries was the focus of the meeting.
President Erdogan also said the European Parliament's decision to suspend accession negotiations with Turkey did not have "any value" for Ankara.
