Turkey’s deal with Moscow on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria is right on track, Turkey’s national defence minister said on Saturday.
"The deal is going according to plan," Hulusi Akar told reporters in Brussels following a NATO defence ministers’ meeting.
Akar said the YPG/PKK withdrawal, in line with the deal reached in Russia this week, must be completed by next Tuesday, October 29 at 1500GMT.
He said people should think twice before making “baseless, unethical” claims of ethnic cleansing that are merely meant to smear Turkey’s counter-terrorism operation.
He said the operation was fully transparent in line with international law and that operational details were shared with fellow defence ministers at the NATO meeting.
'Kurds are our brothers'
Akar stressed that the operation in northern Syria was free of any inhumane practices such as human rights violations or the use of chemical weapons.
Stressing that Turkey's fight against terrorism continues with determination, he said: "Terrorists are our targets. The Kurds are our brothers."
Akar decried how the Western media often conflates Kurds with YPG/PKK terrorists, saying, in fact, Turkey is seeking to help all ethnicities who suffered under the terror group's reign, including Kurds.
"The YPG/PKK oppressed the people [in northern Syria]. About 1.5 million Kurds were displaced,” he said, adding that some 400,000 of these Kurds took shelter in Turkey and are set to return once the safe zone is fully completed.
Asked about relations with NATO, Akar said Turkey is "at the centre of NATO" and fulfilling its responsibilities to the alliance. “Our position remains the same.”
"There is a serious terror threat by the YPG/PKK and Daesh to our country and people, we want that pushed back. And we want to do this with our allies. But if the necessary stance isn’t there, we won't tolerate a delay," he said.
Akar stated that Turkey, since the start of the Syrian unrest in 2011, called on its allies to act in harmony, but these calls fell on deaf ears despite Turkey’s significant contributions to the international coalition against Daesh, or ISIS, by neutralizing over 3,000 terrorists.
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