Turkey decries Syrian regime’s statement on taking Hatay as ‘meaningless’

Turkey has dismissed as "meaningless" a statement by Syria's so-called People's Assembly, which claimed the Turkish province of Hatay as belonging to Damascus. 

“We hear some reckless and meaningless statements about our province of Hatay,” Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday.

Akar’s remarks came during military inspections together with top commanders of navy, ground and air forces in the southern Hatay province.

"We do not have our eyes on anybody's land," he said, adding that one could learn from history what happened to those who had eyes on Turkey’s territory.

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''Unlawful statement'

On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said “We strongly reject the impertinent and unlawful statement targeting the territorial integrity of our country, which has been made by the regime’s so-called People's Assembly, which is devoid of democratic legitimacy and under no circumstances represents the Syrian people.”

Stressing that such statements were "signs of the delusional impasse of the regime" persecuting its own people for years, the ministry affirmed that Turkey had perseverance and determination to respond to contemptible aspirations against its homeland and national interests.

A recent bulletin published by the assembly claimed that Hatay is Syrian territory, stating that the regime would do everything in its power to take the territory. 

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