Hakan Fidan responds to the question 'Will you meet with the HTS leader?'

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made assessments regarding current issues to the France-based broadcaster France 24.

Addressing developments in the region following the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, Fidan responded to a question regarding the US delegation meeting with the new administration in Damascus by saying, "I think it is very important. Before the American officials, representatives of some European countries and international organizations also visited Damascus. We see that contact is being established with the new administration in Damascus. This is an important development."

When asked, "Do you plan to visit Damascus and meet with the HTS leader?", Minister Fidan stated, "Yes, I plan to. I plan to meet with the new administration in Damascus."

Responding to a question about why Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has not been removed from Turkey's terrorist list, Fidan said, "Our inclusion of them on the list is a matter related to the UN list. Of course, we comply with UN Security Council resolutions, but now there is a different situation where the legal dimension and the de facto dimension contradict each other."

Fidan stated that they have not seen HTS engage in any terrorist activities in practice over the last 10 years, adding, "This is a point identified not only by us but also by Western intelligence agencies."

In response to the question, "You were the intelligence chief before becoming Foreign Minister. I assume you had contact with the HTS leader, known as Ahmed al-Shara. Were they useful in the fight against terrorist groups like DAESH or Al-Qaeda? Did they cooperate with you and Western officials to show that they are no longer terrorists and are cooperating against terrorist groups?", Fidan stated that HTS had good cooperation, especially in intelligence sharing in the fight against ISIS, and that they were very helpful to them.

Explaining that they did not disclose this to the public at the time due to the sensitivity of the matter, Fidan said, "HTS has been cooperating with us for years in gathering intelligence on organizations linked to DAESH and Al-Qaeda."

On the other hand, when asked whether HTS also cooperated on targets such as the former leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Fidan replied that HTS was also in cooperation with Turkey regarding such targets.

"THERE MAY BE A LARGE INCREASE IN RETURNS TO SYRIA"

When asked whether Syrians in Turkey would return to their country, Fidan assessed, "We are trying to prepare an environment where Syrians in Turkey and other countries can return to their countries voluntarily and safely. We are working very hard to create a ground where they can feel safe there, but this is not something that can be forced. Of course, we cannot force them to return."

Minister Fidan stated, "But of course, there may be a large increase in returns to Syria in the coming period. That is what we think."

Responding to a question regarding US President-elect Donald Trump's claims about Turkey's role in the change of power in Syria, Fidan said, "I do not think President-elect Trump intended to use a negative connotation when saying that. I think he said it to praise what happened, but the event in Syria cannot be characterized as a 'takeover' by Turkey. If there is a takeover, it is the Syrian people taking over the administration."

"THE FATE OF RUSSIAN BASES IS A MATTER FOR THE SYRIAN PEOPLE"

When asked, "What many people find hard to believe is that Iran and Russia, who invested heavily to support Assad a few years ago, suddenly withdrew without firing a single shot. There was an agreement, right?", Fidan replied, "I would not call it an agreement."

Noting that one can see that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "turned from a tactical manager into a good strategic thinker," partly due to being in power for years, Fidan assessed, "He knows very well what is important, what is less important, what can be invested in, and whether something is sustainable. Therefore, I think he made the final calculation regarding Syria and decided not to continue any further."

When asked if this could be perceived as Putin "abandoning Assad," Fidan replied, "I don't know if it can be called 'abandoned.' It doesn't look much like that. After all, Assad is currently in Moscow."

When asked why Iran cut its support for the Assad regime, Fidan shared the view, "I think Iran also recalculated all options and displayed a very realistic approach."

When asked whether they are in favor of Russian bases remaining in Syria, Minister Fidan replied, "This is a matter for the Syrian people to know. It is a subject dependent on the Syrian people. If they reach an agreement, that is their decision, so we will see, but as far as we can see now, the Russians are in the process of redeploying their troops. We do not know how many of these will continue to remain in the bases in Syria at the end of this process."

"THE PHRASE 'FIGHTING DAESH' IS ALWAYS USED AS AN EXCUSE"

When asked, "Did you know that the US presence in Syria is twice as much as known?", Fidan stated that they noticed their numbers had increased in recent weeks.

Pointing out that the US has increased its military presence in Syria under the pretext of "fighting DAESH," Fidan said, "The phrase 'fighting DAESH' is always used as an excuse. Some things need to be defined correctly. The event they call 'fighting DAESH' actually consists of only one job: keeping DAESH prisoners in prison. That's all. Unfortunately, our American friends and some of our European friends are using another terrorist organization to keep terrorists in prison."

Emphasizing that this is not the right decision, Fidan said that they need to reach a consensus with the US on issues such as how ISIS prisoners will be kept where they are, the liquidation of the PKK/YPG, and how the fundamental rights and security of Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmens will be ensured.

"THE YPG/PKK KNOWS VERY WELL WHAT WE WANT"

When asked whether Turkey would carry out a military operation against the PKK/YPG in northeastern Syria, Fidan said, "The YPG is an organized terrorist organization artificially created from people who came from Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and some from Europe. I think this artificial terrorist organization should be disbanded immediately. There is a new administration in Syria right now. I think they should handle this. Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty make this mandatory. This needs to be done."

"WHATEVER IS NECESSARY WILL BE DONE"

Stating that this issue being handled by the new administration in Syria is "one of the ways they would prefer," Fidan said, "This is the preferred way, but if this does not happen, then of course we have to protect our own national security."

When asked, "So is military intervention a possibility?", Fidan replied, "Whatever is necessary will be done."

Noting that the PKK/YPG should find a solution by negotiating with Damascus, Fidan assessed, "Because there is now a new administration in Damascus. Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime are no longer behind the YPG/PKK."

Stating that Russia, Iran, and Assad provided a ground for the YPG to sit on, and that the US and some European countries supported the YPG on that ground, Fidan said, "But now that ground has disappeared. There is a new reality in Damascus now. I hope the new administration in Damascus will address these issues."

Minister Fidan said, "On the other hand, the YPG/PKK knows very well what we want. We do not want to see any threat directed at our country. We do not want existing threats or potential threats."