Türkiye vows to continue its fight against terrorism

Türkiye's defence minister has reiterated Ankara's determination to continue fighting against terrorism regardless of who is behind it.

Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, where he paid an official visit, Hulusi Akar stressed that Türkiye does not accept any terror presence on its southern border and northern Syria border.

"Due to the current situation, we see that we have to make some interventions to protect our country. We will continue our fight until the last terrorist is neutralised," he noted.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralised” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed, or captured.

Akar also highlighted that Türkiye respects the borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty rights of all its neighbours, especially Syria and Iraq.

"Our only target is terrorists. For us, there is no ethnic, religious, or sectarian discrimination between terrorism and terrorists," he said, adding Kurds and Arabs are Türkiye's brothers and sisters.

In response to a question on a possible cross-border terror operation, the Turkish minister stressed that the Turkish Armed Forces are ready to act at any time with its equipment, weapons, motivation and experience.

READ MORE: Türkiye to fight terrorists in northern Syria 'until they are rooted out'

Ties with UAE

Referring to his official contacts and meetings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Akar said he is expecting "important and positive developments" soon on bilateral co-operation in the military education and defence industry.

"We consider that the work we will do will contribute not only to our countries but also to the peace and stability of the region," he added.

Akar’s visit is significant as it is the first one by a Turkish defence minister to the UAE in 15 years.

After years of tense relations, there has been a major thaw in ties between Türkiye and some Arab states.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's November 2021 visit led to the announcement of a $10 billion fund for investments in Türkiye.

The countries also signed several agreements on energy, environment, finance and trade.

In February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also visited the UAE and the two countries inked 13 agreements in various fields.

READ MORE: Erdogan vows Türkiye won't 'change position' over NATO's Nordic expansion