Turkey defends Syria presence: ministry source

ISTANBUL — Turkey's presence in neighbouring Syria is to stop the war-torn country falling under the sway of terror groups, a Turkish defence ministry source said Thursday after Damascus said a withdrawal of its troops was not a prerequisite for better relations with Ankara.

 

Turkish forces and Turkey-backed rebel factions control swathes of northern Syria, and Ankara has launched successive cross-border offensives since 2016, mainly to clear the area of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the US but which it mistrusts.

 

Turkey sees the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which dominate the SDF, as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it considers a "terrorist" group.

 

"Turkey's presence in Syria prevents the division of Syrian territory and the creation of a terror corridor there," the ministry source told reporters speaking on condition of anonymity. 

 

"We want to see a democratic and prosperous Syria, not a Syria plagued by instability and terrorist organisations," the same source added. 

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  has in recent months sought rapprochement with Damascus, inviting Assad to Turkey.

 

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Sunday the withdrawal of Turkish forces from its territory was not a prerequisite to a rapprochement. 

 

"Our president has personally expressed our readiness for talks and dialogue at all levels," the Turkish defence ministry source said, adding that Ankara's recent remarks on talks appeared to have an impact. 

 

"We have a clear stance on Syria," the source added. 

 

The Kurdish-led SDF spearheaded the battle that dislodged Islamic State group jihadists from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019. The Kurds have established a semi-autonomous administration spanning swathes of the north and northeast.

 

Syria's war began after the repression of anti-government protests in 2011 and has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.

 

Turkey hosts some 3.2 million Syrian refugees out of a population of 85 million, according to United Nations data. 

 

Their fate has been a political hot potato, with some opponents of Erdogan promising to send them back to Syria.