Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, in a joint press conference with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in Ankara, “It is necessary to remove Syria from the mire of terrorists, whether ISIS or the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, to reach a stage of stability,” stressing that “ His country, as a NATO country, cannot accept that terrorist organizations remain in Syria.”
Erdogan added: “We discussed most of the issues related to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we agreed on the necessity of moving Syria to the stage of light.”
He said: “We are facing a horrific scene in Syria, after the bankruptcy of the Baath regime,” stressing that “Syria cannot recover from this situation, except with the full support of the international community and international organizations.” He added: “The bad situation in Syria can be avoided by Support Syria fully.”
The Turkish President pointed out that “we discussed the possibilities of cooperation between the European Union and Turkey to support the new Syria in the next stage.”
For her part, von der Leyen said, “The collapse of the Assad regime gives hope to the Syrian people, but it still poses risks and the security situation in Syria is still volatile.”
She added, “National unity in Syria must be respected and minorities must be protected, and we must do our part in supporting Syria at this critical crossroads.”
The European official confirmed that “European diplomats will return to Damascus, and we maintained our presence in Syria to support those who needed our support there, but without communication or coordination with the Assad regime. Now we must support the Syrian infrastructure, and we launched an air bridge, and we expect that The first goods arrive this week in Syria.”
She pointed out that “Europe is one of the most supportive of Syria, and we will focus on reconstruction, and we will start a dialogue about easing sanctions, but this will happen when we see a peaceful transition on the field.”
She stressed that “the return of Syrian refugees must be a safe and voluntary return, and we are coordinating with the UNHCR in this matter.” She said, “Turkey has received large numbers of refugees, and the European Union has supported Turkey in this file, and since 2011 we have provided Turkey with more than 11 billion euros.” To support refugees.”
She said, “Turkish security concerns must be taken into account, and terrorist organizations should not control areas in Syria.” She added, “We are monitoring the spread of ISIS elements in eastern Syria, and we will not allow terrorism in Syria.”
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