'Turkey can help build lasting peace in Mideast'

Turkey is a nation that can contribute to efforts toward lasting peace and stability in the Middle East, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Monday.

“If there is one country that keeps the hopes of Syrian people alive, it is Turkey,” Yildirim told a group of NGO representatives, scholars and journalists during a keynote address at London-based think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Speaking at a panel titled “Turkey’s perspectives on the Middle East: Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?”, he pointed out that peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan launched in January this year were not competing with similar efforts in Geneva but were aimed at supporting a peaceful transition in Syria.

“The Astana process is not an alternative to the Geneva process but a preparation for a sustainable and stable governance that would be based on the territorial integrity of Syria and in which all ethnic groups that have not had contact with terrorism [groups] would be represented.”

Yildirim said the parties involved in the Astana process -- an initiative by Turkey, Russia and Iran to look for a sustainable peace deal in Syria -- had come a long way in reducing tensions and achieving a ceasefire.

Urging the countries that comprise the coalition forces and especially the U.S. to take more responsibility from now on, Yildirim said he was sure that “in a not very long period of time, the Syria question will meet a solution and the struggle and pain experienced in the region will come to an end”.

Stressing that more than 3.5 million Syrians have been accommodated in Turkey after fleeing their country due to civil war, Yildirim said 250,000 Syrian children were born in Turkey and around 600,000 Syrian children are being educated at Turkish schools.

“Of course, it would be unthinkable for Turkey -- who shares a 911-kilometer-long border with Syria – to remain nonresponsive” to Syria becoming wreckage, he said.

“We have welcomed millions of people who fled oppression and attacks.”

Terrorism

Turning to the subject of terrorism, Yildirim said Turkey has rejected the entry of more than 50,000 foreign fighters from 54 different countries.

He said around 3,000 Daesh members were arrested or jailed.

“We have achieved great work in the fight against Daesh within the framework of [Operation] Euphrates Shield. We have neutralized 3,600 Daesh members on Syrian soil,” Yildirim said.

Iran

Yildirim underscored that Turkey and Iran have had good neighborly relations for centuries.

“But we always say that religion and sects could never be countries’ politics; they cannot be shaped by them,” he added.

“We can think or believe differently. What we need to do is respect each other’s beliefs, thoughts and even interpretations. No matter what we are -- Christian, Muslim, Shia or Sunni -- we are all subjects created by Almighty God.”

Pointing out that Turkey is a country capable of providing a balance between the U.S., the EU, NATO countries, Russia and Iran, Yildirim said it is a country that can contribute to building lasting peace in the region.

S-400 missiles

Regarding a question on various concerns over Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia, he said “the answer is simple”.

“We say to the U.S. that ‘PYD/YPG is a terrorist organization. Do not cooperate with them’, and they turn to us to say ‘This is not a choice; this is a necessity.’ I also say the S-400s are not a choice but a necessity.”

 Terror attack in Egypt

Yildirim said a day of mourning was declared in Turkey following last week’s terror attack in Egypt which killed more than 300 people at a mosque. He said messages of condolences were sent to Egypt from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and himself.

“There has been no problem between Egyptian and Turkish people since the beginning…The problem is the ousting of a president who was elected in a democratic way with a coup. This happened in Egypt,” he said.

Yildirim added that a similar coup was tried in Turkey, but “our nation did not permit it”.

Lira being tested

Turning to the economy, Yildirim said the Turkish lira is being tested but the economy is strong enough to deal with fluctuations.

“Turkey has received 15 similar attacks in the past 10 years but managed to overcome [them] all,” he said.

Yildirim earlier Monday met his British counterpart Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Yildirim was being accompanied on his official London visit by Turkey’s EU Minister Omer Celik, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party Deputy Chair Mehdi Eker and AK Party acting parliamentary group head Mustafa Elitas.

Yildirim’s visit to London ended Monday night.