Turkey Rejects Trump Claim Of Ankara “Takeover” In Syria

Turkey on Wednesday rejected US President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that the rebel ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad was an “unfriendly takeover” by Ankara.

“We wouldn’t call it a takeover, because it would be a grave mistake to present what’s been happening in Syria” in those terms, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told broadcaster Al Jazeera in an interview.

“For Syrian people, it is not a takeover. I think if there is any takeover, it’s the will of the Syrian people which is taking over now.”

On Monday, Trump said: “The people that went in (to Syria) are controlled by Turkey and that’s ok.”

“Turkey did an unfriendly takeover, without a lot of lives being lost,” the billionaire businessman told reporters.

Since the early days of the anti-Assad revolt that erupted in 2011, Turkey has been seen as a key backer of the opposition to his rule.

It has hosted political dissenters as well as millions of refugees and also backed rebel groups fighting the army.

Fidan said it would be incorrect to characterise Turkey as the power that would rule Syria in the end.

“I think that would be the last thing that we want to see, because we are drawing huge lessons from what’s been happening in our region, because the culture of domination itself has destroyed our region,” he said.

“Therefore, it is not Turkish domination, not Iranian domination, not Arab domination, but cooperation should be essential,” he added.

“Our solidarity with Syrian people shouldn’t be characterised or defined today as if we are actually ruling Syria. I think that would be wrong.”

– Kurdish question –

In the same interview Fidan warned Syria’s new rulers to address the issue of Kurdish forces in the country, whom Ankara brands “terrorists”.

“There is a new administration in Damascus now. I think, this is primarily their concern now,” the minister said.

“So, I think if they are going to, if they address this issue properly, so there would be no reason for us to intervene.”

Fidan was responding to a question about rumours that Turkey could launch an offensive on the Kurdish-held border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.

Local witnesses told AFP there has been an increase in the number of soldiers patrolling on the Turkish side of the border but no unusual military activity.

Ankara has staged multiple operations against Kurdish forces since 2016, and Turkish-backed groups have captured several Kurdish-held towns in the north of Syria in recent weeks.

-‘It’s time’-

European countries are wrestling with their approach to HTS which is rooted in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda and has largely been seen in the West as a terror group, despite moderating its rhetoric.

“I think it is time for the international community starting from UN… to remove their name from the terrorism list,” Fidan said.

“I think HTS has taken huge steps in divorcing itself from Al-Qaeda and Daesh (the Islamic State group) and other related radical elements,” he added.

Turkey also lists HTS as a terror group even though it has maintained a working relationship with it.