Turkey-Russia agreement allowed a ceasefire that will save civilian lives and prevent new refugee flows from Idlib. The implementation will be critical and we will not tolerate any violations by the regime, which has violated every previous agreement.
President Erdogan conveyed Turkey’s determination to keep the regime out of Idlib, which would create further humanitarian suffering. Presidents Erdogan and Putin agreed to this ceasefire and to keep communications about how to best move forward toward a political solution.
Turkey continues to work with both Russia and the US to achieve stability and peace in Syria. Our first priority is to prevent new IDP and refugee outflows from Idlib and stop the regime from pushing civilians out of the region.
Turkey has shown it will use its military means to defend innocent civilians in Syria and to protect our national security. We will not tolerate any attacks on our troops and any regime aggression. The regime cannot kill its way out of this disaster it has created.
The international community must pay attention and share the burden of this generational crisis in the region. Our ceasefire agreement doesn’t mean the end of problems. On the contrary, there is a need for a robust and sustained international humanitarian response.
Over 3 million civilians remain stuck in Idlib. Europe must act on the need for a comprehensive and effective solution to the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Turkey will continue to implement the recent modification of its refugee policy, as the EU failed to keep its promises. The EU must take steps to cooperate with Turkey to end the humanitarian crisis rather than take measures against Turkey.
We will work hard to ensure this ceasefire holds. However, we will not tolerate any regime action to create further conflict and instability. We expect that all parties hold to their commitments and work toward a political solution as soon as possible.
