‘Without Turkey’s operations, terrorist statelets would emerge in Iraq, Syria’

Turkey will never allow terrorist formations near its borders, tolerate terrorist statelets, says Omer Celik

“De facto terrorist statelets” would have emerged across Turkey’s southern borders with Iraq and Syria had Ankara not conducted its anti-terror operations in recent years, the spokesman for Turkey’s Justice and Development (AK) Party said on Thursday.

Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday ratified a motion extending the government’s authorization to launch cross-border anti-terrorist operations in northern Iraq and Syria for two more years, as well as continued participation in a Lebanon peacekeeping mission.