Turkey staying in Syria not to invade it but to fight terrorism, help Syrians - Turkish parliamentary speaker
MOSCOW. Oct 9 (Interfax) - Turkey has no claims on foreign territory and is not in Syria to invade it, Turkish parliamentary speaker Binali Yildirim said.
"Turkey has no claims on territories of other countries. Never in our glorious history have we acted as colonizers. We are in Syria not to invade it, but to fight terrorism and help our Syrian brothers," Yildirim told Interfax.
"Our country will never allow terrorists to set up a refuge, either near its borders or beyond them. Turkey will undertake all actions it sees fit to that end, without confining itself to any time limits," he said when asked how long Turkey might remain in Syria.
Turkish forces are present in Syria "to eliminate the threat to our country's and the region's security and stability prompted by the conflict and preserve Syria's territorial integrity and political unity," Yildirim said.