Turkey's Erdogan offers help in Syria state structure ahead of Fidan visit
The Turkish president said his top diplomat will soon travel to Damascus to support Syria's interim government in its fight against groups that Ankara deems a threat to its national security.
ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his foreign minister will soon visit Damascus as he pledged support for the Syrian interim government in its fight against the Islamic State and the Syrian Kurdish group that Ankara considers a terrorist organization.
“Our Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will travel there soon,” Erdogan told reporters on a return flight from Cairo, according to an official transcript of his remarks released on Friday. He didn’t specify a date.
“One of the most important steps in establishing a state is the drafting of a constitution,” Erdogan added, stating that Turkey would offer guidance to help the Syrian government establish a new state structure. “From now on, our brothers in Syria will make their own decisions about their future. We will try to help them on how the state structure should be.”
This help will entail fighting Islamic State and Kurdish militants, he added. “Especially in the fight against ISIS, PKK/YPG, they must never be left alone. We will do whatever is necessary,” Erdogan said, using the acronyms of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its Syrian offshoot, the People’s Defense Units (YPG).
