Erdogan: Turkey Will Never Allow Syria to Be Divided Again

Source: Video Screenshot

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Tuesday that Syria must never be divided again, and Turkey will oppose anyone attempting to compromise its territory.

"From now on, we cannot allow Syria to be divided again," Erdogan said, addressing the situation in Syria as the country enters a period of uncertainty following the removal of long-time President Bashar al-Assad.

"Any attack on the freedom of the Syrian people, the stability of the new administration, and the integrity of its lands will find us standing against it."

Turkey has long opposed Kurdish separatists gaining influence in Syria, where they have controlled a large northeastern region since 2012. Ankara views Kurdish forces, especially the militant YPG group, as an extension of the PKK, which has waged a violent insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s.

On Sunday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned Kurdish fighters not to exploit the situation created by Assad's removal by Islamist-led rebels to expand their influence in Syria.

In the past 10 days, Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria have launched an offensive, capturing several Kurdish-held areas.

Turkey has also condemned Israel for expanding into Syrian territory after Israeli troops entered a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights following Assad's removal, reiterating its support for Syria's "territorial integrity."

"In this sensitive period, when the possibility of achieving the peace and stability the Syrian people have long desired has emerged, Israel is once again displaying its occupying mentality," Ankara said in a statement.

The Golan Heights, a mountainous plateau at Syria’s southwestern border, was mostly captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed. It is separated from the Syrian side by the UN-patrolled buffer zone.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the move as a "limited and temporary step" for "security reasons."