Turkey rejects European Parliament’s 'unfounded' claims

Turkish foreign ministry says the European Parliament must understand how important role Turkey has played in solving Syrian conflict and refugee crisis so far, which are critical for the safety of Europe.

FILE PHOTO: A view of Turkey's Foreign Ministry building in the capital Ankara on October 9, 2019.
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FILE PHOTO: A view of Turkey's Foreign Ministry building in the capital Ankara on October 9, 2019.

Turkey has rejected the "unfounded" allegations levelled by the European Parliament regarding Syria conflict.

"We reject the unfounded allegations regarding our country, which embraced millions of Syrians and assumed heavy responsibilities on its own due to the conflict, were included in the resolution adopted in the European Parliament's General Assembly on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Syrian conflict," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

It also demonstrates the European Parliament's biased approach and is away from honesty against Turkey, it said.

The European Parliament’s sweeping resolution had recently accused all major actors in the Syrian conflict of committing human rights violations without any mention of the PKK terror group’s Syrian offshoot - the YPG - that has been found to not only recruit child soldiers but also released Daesh terrorist in return for money.

The PKK, recognised as a terrorist organisation by the US, EU, UK and Turkey, has waged a deadly armed campaign against the Turkish state that has claimed more than 40,000 lives during the past four decades.

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Recently increasing terror attacks

Turkey always stresses that it carried out operations in northern Syria against terror groups threatening Syrian and Turkish people along the Turkish border based on the right of self-defence.

All necessary measures were taken to prevent any harm to the civilian population during and after the operations, the statement said, adding that the people of the region were rescued from the persecution of Daesh/ISIS and PKK/YPG terror organisations.

Thanks to the stabilisation efforts of local elements under the leadership of the Syrian Interim Government, peace, and stability have been established, and more than 420,000 refugees have been voluntarily and safely returned to these regions, it noted.

“The main thing that the European Parliament should criticise is that the PKK/YPG's recently increasing terrorist attacks that is aimed at disrupting peace and stability in the region,” it said.

It is also noteworthy that PKK/YPG's efforts to change the demography of the region, and releasing Daesh/ISIS members were not mentioned in the decision, it underlined.

READ MORE: US military report reveals YPG/PKK terrorists still use child recruits

Turkey will continue its efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict on the basis of the UN Security Council resolution 2254 while continuing its fight against terrorism in all its forms, it stressed.

Ankara called the European Parliament to comprehend the importance of Turkey’s contribution in Syria for Europe and to make a constructive contribution to the political solution of the conflict in the context of developments in Syria instead of making unrealistic and irrelevant statements, it concludes.

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