Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stressed that “the goal of his country in military operations outside of Turkey is to fight only against terrorist organizations, and that Ankara does not claim the lands of neighboring countries.” He explained that “since the beginning of this year, 2,226 terrorists have been neutralized by the country’s forces as part of the fight against terrorist organizations.”

He pointed out that “Turkey respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries”, noting that “Ankara’s fight against terrorist organizations operating in Syria and Iraq is also beneficial to both countries”, and emphasized that “Turkey attaches great importance to not cause harm to the civilian population, innocent people, the environment, historical, religious and cultural heritage in the course of anti-terrorist operations.”

Akar noted that “Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis and Alawites are brothers. Turkey does not target any of these segments. Ankara seeks only to destroy terrorist organizations. Everyone should be aware of this.” He pointed out that “Turkey’s new strategy in the fight against terrorism is to strike at terrorists wherever they are.”

In a separate context, the Minister of Defense raised the issue of Greece’s allocation of huge sums for armaments, and explained, referring to the Greek side, that “do not tire yourself and do not make useless efforts, what you collect is not enough for (opposing) Turkey and its army, and a lot in terms of defense.

Akar expressed “surprise at Greece’s tireless efforts towards the United States, Germany and all allied countries not to provide Turkey with military equipment”, noting that “this is contrary to good neighborly relations and friendship between the two countries”, and stressed that “Turkey wants to resolve the unresolved differences between the two countries through dialogue. And by peaceful means, noting that some Greek politicians undermine relations between the two countries only out of personal interests and calculations.

He stated that “some Greek politicians wake up in the morning and wonder about a new way to attack Turkey”, stressing that “Turkey does not want problems between the two countries to turn into bilateral problems between Turkey and Europe or with the United States of America.” states or with NATO, but it is better to solve these problems only between the two countries, without the intervention of an outside party.