The purpose of Turkey's military operation in Iraq is not to gain new territories, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday during a speech to parliament, which was broadcast by the NTV channel.
"The purpose of our operation is to clear Iraqi territory from terrorists and to guarantee the security of our border. Turkey does not claim any territory," the president said. He also confirmed the deaths of two Turkish soldiers during missions in Iraq.
Thanks to such operations, he said, the country "has largely been able to prevent terrorist activity in the border regions and the infiltration of terrorists into Turkey." "Earlier, we changed the concept of counterterrorism. We expanded our methods of fighting to the very foundations of terrorist organizations and began to seriously resist them within the country. And achieved that now the terrorists cannot carry out attacks in Turkey," Erdogan said. He also thanked the central authorities of Iraq and the leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan for supporting Turkey's actions.
In addition, the Turkish leader noted that "in the near future, when there will be no such region as Qandil (northern Iraq, where PKK bases are concentrated - TASS), there will be no reason for the existence of [pro-Kurdish] party" in Turkey. This refers to the People's Democracy Party, whose leaders are accused of extremism and supporting terrorists and are serving prison sentences. The authorities have also initiated legal proceedings to disband the party on charges of separatism.
On Monday night, the Turkish Armed Forces launched a new military operation against PKK members in northern Iraq, involving the country's air force and special forces units. Turkish fighters carried out air strikes in the Iraqi regions of Metina, Zap and Avasin. Ankara considers the PKK a terrorist organization and a major threat to national security. Turkish Armed Forces periodically carry out spot strikes in Iraq against sites where the organization has camps, hideouts, command posts and arms depots. The military has been sanctioned for such cross-border operations by the parliament which has been extending the relevant mandate for a year in recent years. Baghdad, in turn, condemns the actions of the Turkish military, calling them a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS