Erdogan: No one can hold us accountable for our fight against terrorists

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said no one can hold Turkey accountable for its fight against terrorists.

"Despite its sacrifices, Türkiye will never forget how it was forsaken in its fight against terrorist groups that pose a serious threat against our unity," Erdogan said during a speech addressing the TRT World Forum 2022 in Istanbul.

Blaming the European countries of “supporting” and “safeguarding” terrorist groups, Erdogan said in such circumstances, “It is clear that dreaming of a common future with Europe is so difficult”.

Last month, Turkey launched airstrikes into Northern Syria and Northern Iraq following a deadly Istanbul attack that Ankara blamed on Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian affiliate Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YGP). Despite Kurdish groups denied involvement, Turkey also threatened a ground offensive into the region.

Western countries, including the United States opposed any military operation in Northern Syria, saying that it would harm the efforts in fight against the Islamic State.

The US that maintains troops in Syria as part of a global coalition to root out the ISIS, is allied with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in its fight against the Islamic State. YPG which Turkey sees as an offshoot of the outlawed PKK, forms the backbone of the SDF.

PKK is an armed group fighting a war with Turkish military since 1984 for Kurdish autonomous rights and designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU, where YPG is not.

Since 2016, Turkey has carried out three large-scale operations in Syria to combat YPG.