NATO leaders must not abandon Turkey in anti-terror fight: Erdoğan

NATO allies should support Turkey in its conflict with YPG militants after Ankara dropped its objections to the alliance's defence plans for Poland and the Baltics, President Tayyip Erdoğan was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters accompanying him during his visit to London for the NATO summit on Dec. 3-4, Erdoğan said that Turkey dropped its objection to the Baltics plan after NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg and the leaders of Germany, France and Poland asked for Turkey's backing.

"They all called us and asked us for support on this. After talks with my colleagues, we said yes to this, but you must not abandon us in the fight against terror," broadcaster NTV quoted Erdoğan as saying.

Stoltenberg told reporters after the summit that allies had not discussed how to designate the YPG during their talks.

Ties between Turkey and its NATO allies have soured over a host of issues, ranging from Ankara's decision to procure Russian air defence systems to Syria policy. Ankara accuses its allies of not providing enough support against the threats it is facing and in hosting more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees.

Turkey says it aims to establish a "safe zone" in part of northeast Syria after clearing the region of the YPG, and says that Syrian refugees can be settled there.

Erdoğan has also urged allies to provide funds for its plans, which he discussed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the summit.

Erdoğan said that only one country, which he did not name, has so far pledged support for Turkey's Syria plans.

"ALLIES MUST TAKE OUR SECURITY CONCERNS SERIOUSLY"
Underlining that Turkey was the only NATO member fighting against terror groups such as YPG/PKK in northern Syria, Daesh/ISIS and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), he said: "We regret to see that some allies are hand in hand with these terror groups while emphasizing the fight against terrorism."

"All allies must take our security concerns seriously, just as we take the alliance's security concerns seriously."

Erdoğan added that NATO leaders only talked about the fight against terrorism, without taking action on the matter.

Erdoğan stressed that Turkey stood as one of the strongest members of NATO and has participated in the most critical missions of the alliance since becoming a member in 1952.

Noting that Turkey was currently present in various NATO's missions varying from Afghanistan to Iraq, Erdoğan said Turkey's military and financial share in the pact was more than that of many other members.

Erdoğan went on to say that the alliance's power depended on the solidarity between members, adding the insecurity of one member would mean insecurity for the others.

- FOUR-WAY MEETING
Referring to Wednesday's four-way meeting during the NATO leaders' meeting between Turkish, French, German and British leaders, Erdoğan said Turkey's counter-terrorism operation in northern Syria was discussed in detail.

He said he told his counterparts that Turkey had no intention of leaving the region without first securing its peace.

"We entered [northern Syria] to establish peace, and we will establish peace there," Erdoğan said, adding there was no change in Turkey's plans to establish a safe-zone in the area.

Erdoğan said he criticized his counterparts who boasted about eradicating the threat from Daesh in alliance with the YPG/PKK terrorists, while Daesh was still present in the area.

He went on to say that Turkey inflicted significant blows to Daesh, with over 3,000 of its members neutralized in Al-Bab, northern Syria, along with many others in other parts of the country. He added that Turkey has arrested over 7,000 Daesh terrorists.

Noting that though some NATO members praised Ankara for hosting up to four million Syrians, the EU had not yet fulfilled its promise to provide a total of €6 billion (over $6.6 billion) of financial support for Turkey.

Erdoğan said he had "fruitful" talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as well as U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO meeting.

"We discussed some problematic issues, again[...]We are going to focus on [the goal of reaching] $100 billion bilateral trade volume. Also, we discussed the NATO meeting and regional issues. Our friends assigned on the issues of the S-400 and F-35 will continue their efforts," Erdoğan said, referring to his meeting with Trump.

He went on to say that a recent summit between himself and the leaders of France, the U.K. and Germany had decided to hold annual four-way meetings starting February 2020.

LIBYA MARITIME DEAL
On a recent maritime deal with Libya, Erdoğan said the agreement would be implemented so long as Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) stood firm and strong.

He added that Turkey's memorandum of understanding with Libya was hammered out with a legitimate government, and that parliament was preparing to ratify this deal.

"However, the opposing side is disturbed [with agreement]," he said, adding that Greece, the Greek Cypriot administration, Egypt and Israel incited the EU against over this matter.

He criticized France for attempting to get involved in the Cyprus issue, saying Turkey, Greece and the U.K. were guarantor countries and that France had no right to intervene.

"We are going to do our best to protect their [Turkish Cypriots] rights," he said, emphasizing that Ankara would never renounce its stance on the island.

The recent agreement with Libya fully "complies with" the International Law of the Sea, Erdoğan said.