Erdoğan on cross-border anti-terror ops: It is our right to take necessary measures to ensure Türkiye's national security

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech during a press conference following the government cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

"Our country's efforts to eliminate terrorism at its roots have disrupted the plans of establishing a terrorist corridor through cross-border operations. Our ongoing efforts to combat terror will continue until every inch of the northern Iraqi mountains, known as a refuge for terrorist actions, has been fully safeguarded," Erdoğan said in a statement.

During the press briefing, Erdoğan shared the following remarks:

"In the past five days, a total of 114 targets were successfully struck during air operations in Syria and Iraq. As a result, 78 terrorists have been dealt with accordingly.

The efforts to sustain and empower the terrorist group PKK through the supply of arms, ammunition, and training facilities are on the rise.

Our ongoing anti-terror operations will persist until every corner of the northern Iraqi mountains, which serve as a haven for terrorist activities, is completely safe and secure.

Given that our allies have not followed through with their promises, it is within our right to take the necessary measures to ensure Türkiye's national security.

We have shattered and discarded the scenario of encircling our country with a terrorist corridor through cross-border operations.

Türkiye's strategy of eliminating terrorism at its source, which has been implemented with determination for some time, has disturbed those who plan to establish a terrorist corridor in our region the most. The expression of intolerance manifests itself by activating certain elements within our country, sometimes accusing our country of being an occupier, trying to corner us on the international stage, spreading false information, using press organs whose assassins they control, and supporting treacherous terrorist acts to directly inflict pain on us.

With the new operations we will conduct, we will secure our future.

In our cross-border operations, we not only ensured the security of the southern border but also prevented our country from being surrounded by a terrorist corridor.

More than 620,000 Syrians in our country with temporary refugee status have returned to safe zones.

My dear nation, the situation before us is quite clear. Türkiye will either eradicate the separatist terrorist threat at its source or, as before, engage in the fight against terrorism within the boundaries of its cities and neighborhoods.

We cannot be at ease as long as dreams of establishing a terrorist entity persist.

Türkiye has demonstrated that it will not allow surgical interventions on its territory through successful cross-border operations.

We will not stop until we dismantle the terrorist lines from Tel Rifaat in Syria to Ayn al-Arab and from there to Manbij.

Those peddlers who spread across a broad spectrum from politics to media, from academia to culture and art share a common trait: opportunism and insincerity.

Doubts about Türkiye's regime were settled with cheers of 'Long live the Republic' in 1923. It is not correct to turn this issue into a political polemic.

All the traps set before us are aimed at diverting Türkiye from its real agenda. We will not waste time with artificial agendas."