AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik points to the desired government model in Syria: 'Turkey has not changed its stance'

Çelik made assessments on the Syria-centered agenda during a live broadcast on HaberTürk.

Here are the highlights from Ömer Çelik's statements:

There was a situation where a multitude of forces were stationed, which everyone knows and has memorized from television. The original point of origin for HTS was Idlib. There was a de-escalation zone in Idlib. Those present there on behalf of the regime were supposed to show respect. There was something that had been going on for a long time. The regime was not respecting the de-escalation zone in Idlib. We were telling the elements there, 'let no more blood be shed.' That is why we wanted to meet with Assad. The forces in Idlib were patient up to a point. They were saying, 'We are not engaging in any movement, but the regime's attacks continue.' HTS initially took a defensive position. Later, they moved to retake places that the regime had seized, which should not have been touched.

"NOT THE MAIN ELEMENT IN TERMS OF DEFENSE"

Once they took this place very easily, they started to advance. It was seen that the regime army no longer had the capacity to fight in any way. The advance was so rapid that neither a regime element nor anything else was resisting. In fact, the regime army is not the main element in terms of defending its own territory. Instead, it turned out that proxy forces were the main elements fighting. When there was a withdrawal among those supporting elements, it was seen that the regime had no capacity to struggle. In a statement made by Assad, he said, 'They told me that positions were collapsing one by one. The Russians organized and ensured my exit from Syria.'

"THE MAP WAS CHANGING WITHIN HOURS"

We wanted existing agreements to be complied with and a political solution to be reached. That was the meaning of the calls. CHP Leader Özgür Özel continues his anachronistic stance. By the time Mr. Özel made his call, the reality had changed from our statement. Even Assad must have been surprised by the call made after that hour. The map was changing within hours. What will these regime elements fight for from now on? Public support has been lost; there are groups ranging from the Syrian National Army and the National Liberation Front to HTS. 13 years have passed. One should be surprised why Assad has not left until now. The support given to him is clear.

"THE STRUCTURE FELL APART"

There is a changing reality on the ground, such as Hezbollah focusing on Lebanon. When the underlying support was withdrawn, the structure that was standing fell apart. There is talk of the intelligence chief and his brother Maher fleeing. This means the main columns of the massacre regime saw the situation and made their own Plan B. Ultimately, they also let go of the rope. There are allegations that Turkey supported HTS and that Turkey told HTS to 'carry out these attacks.' There is absolutely no such thing. We said, 'let no more blood be shed, let a political framework emerge.' Assad did not agree to this.

"ASSAD SHOULD HAVE BUILT A COUNTRY BASED ON THE PEOPLE"

You see it in movies about Hitler. When giving a briefing, he says, 'Let this army move,' they say 'at your command,' and then they go outside and say, 'Well, there is no such army left.' When asked 'Why didn't you tell him,' they say 'we couldn't.' Assad should have built a country based on the people. He did something against the will of the people. When the Arab Spring began, we made assessments that it would create a huge wave and overturn the countries in the region. Our President made some suggestions; 'make reforms, handle this wave without breakages, collapses, and disintegration.' Our President also made this suggestion to Assad. Assad accepted some of these. Delegations from Turkey began to travel there.

"THE ASTANA AND GENEVA PROCESSES WERE NOT CONTRADICTORY PROCESSES"

One of the issues our President told Assad was, 'Give citizenship and equality to the Kurds in Syria.' Today, there was no such assessment on the agenda of the political line that defends the PKK/PYD terrorist organization by calling them Syrian Kurds. The Astana and Geneva processes were not contradictory processes. We said we are realizing all of these in the local situation in Syria. Different perspectives had different mechanisms. The only country involved in both was Turkey. Numerous meetings were held regarding this. If those steps could have been taken when our President first made these suggestions, so much blood would not have been shed. When we saw the Arab Spring wave and started talking to Syria, the reaction from the US was 'do not talk to a rogue state.' One of the topics where propaganda about a shift in axis reached its peak was the meetings held with Assad within the framework of the initiative developed to protect the peoples of the region. Later, John Kerry went there and visited. The reality our President spoke of, 'let no blood be shed on the ground,' and the reality in the call made by Özgür Özel have nothing to do with each other.

"OUR PRESIDENT STOOD CLEAR AND STEADY"

The only country that has relations with these elements, namely HTS, the Syrian National Army, and the National Liberation Front, is Turkey. Secondly, Turkey has this privilege: Turkey is the country that establishes contact with the opposition groups that the Syrian people truly support. At first, all those who were opposed to Assad changed their positions after a while, saying 'Assad is not leaving here.' From the very beginning, we did not have a stance saying 'let Assad continue like this.' Intelligence agencies were going to meet and create an agenda maturity. Foreign Ministers would meet, and then if our President gave approval, meetings with Assad would take place. Otherwise, it was not 'continue to shed blood.' Our President stood clear and steady. It was not in the sense of 'let Assad continue his massacres and we will see him as a valid interlocutor.' Look at the attacks carried out by the regime. It was like a cocoon simmering from within.

"EVEN IN THE MOST DIFFICULT TIMES OF THE INCIDENT, TURKEY DID NOT CHANGE ITS STANCE"

When you look at Trump's statements, it is a very cautious attitude, trying to foresee what will happen, and somewhat requesting Turkey's guidance. Because Turkey has the clearest stance on this issue. This picture emerged because Turkey is the only country that has contact with all of the opposition groups. Now they are carrying both Syrian and Turkish flags. Why don't they carry the flag of another country? When you see it in the broadcasts, we see how high the interest and concern regarding Turkey and our President are. Even in the most difficult times of the incident, Turkey did not change its stance. Turkey provided the greatest support and protection to those fleeing the massacre network.

"I HAD SAID THAT WE SEE THE FIELD BETTER THAN POLLING COMPANIES"

There was a heavy political agenda regarding those fleeing the deaths. There was talk of those who engage in racism through a certain style of fascism rising in the polls. Even a lot of polls were published claiming that Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu was ahead. I had said that we see the field better than polling companies. While there was a great consensus that Turkey's policy created a political wave large enough to cause the loss of the May 14-28 elections, at the most critical time, our President said, 'I can never send them to their deaths, we will continue to take care of them.' It was one of the risks taken willingly in the AK Party's political journey, in our President's political journey. The regime was essentially squeezed into the Latakia-centered area. There was a little in Damascus. There was an American group below. Ultimately, the regime had no sociological support. There is a large Kurdish mass that has nothing to do with the PKK. When Arabs and all other elements, sects, and Turkmens came together, they formed a large sociological total. The Nusayris there had no sin in these events, but the regime was relying on a minority there.

"NETANYAHU IS TRIGGERING A REGIONAL WAR"

Immediately after the October 7 events, Netanyahu did not mention defense in any way. He said, 'Regional maps will change.' After that, he talked about the Promised Land and the David corridor. He made another statement, 'Look, what I said came true, Lebanon, Syria, Iran are not like they used to be,' he said. It is confirmation of our expression that what Netanyahu is doing is a new occupation policy by using the whole process as an excuse. He is bombing Lebanon, he carried out a genocide in Gaza. There are the Golan Heights that he has kept under occupation since 1967. Violating the disengagement of forces agreement, he crossed behind Mount Hermon. Defense Minister Katz said, 'We will implement an incentive policy for the settlements here.' It is clear that plans that will overturn the region, which we call theo-political, are being discussed here. The Israeli Army Radio says, 'We have destroyed 70-80 percent of Syria's military capacity.' When there are no countries in the region to ensure their own security, it is possible for situations like Afghanistan in the past to emerge. Netanyahu is trying to realize a much larger picture of destruction. This could lead to the birth of much larger problematic reactions.

"WE WANT AN INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT IN SYRIA"

Something happened today that saddened me. Mr. Özgür Özel says, 'Both Israel and the AK Party members are happy with the situation in Syria.' This statement is morally problematic and politically very wrong. The making of such a grave statement. We want an inclusive government in Syria. Let the will of the Syrian people, where everyone is represented, emerge. We want Syria to be a unitary state. We say let a picture where a terrorist organization imposes its will not emerge. The AK Party, which says this, equates our President with Israel, which bombs Syria. It equates it with Israel, which violates the forces agreement. In the past, wise figures who could be considered masters in foreign policy, such as Hikmet Çetin and Şükrü Elekdağ, were raised in the CHP. Is it right to call an occupier a winner right now? If you look at it with this logic, God forbid, the sentence 'the winner of the Gaza war is also Israel' comes out of this. How can such a ridiculous thing happen? If it is said that Israel is trying to benefit by creating chaos, that is something else. Mr. Özel's grave sentence is something else entirely. Whether another country is pleased or not does not concern us. If someone were to come out and say against this sentence, 'Those most saddened by Assad's departure are Assad himself and the CHP administration,' I would oppose that. They don't know where their words are going. Can there be such a foreign policy sentence? If they used the general sentence 'CHP members,' I would be the first to oppose it, saying 'you are being disrespectful to CHP citizens.' Who is it to put Turkey and Israel side by side, to put AK Party members and Israel side by side? It means those who put the AK Party and Israel side by side in Syria are those who stand side by side with the Assad regime, it is that clear.

"A COMMON WILL MODEL MUST EMERGE"

I don't know how they name it. When we said this in Egypt, a literature debate was mentioned there. An important person said, 'Let's call secularism civil politics.' He had said something very necessary for the Islamic world. Khaled Mashal had said this in Egypt. What he said was; Sunni will respect Shia, Shia will respect Sunni... A model where all ethnic and religious groups live together. We say 'Syria belongs to the Syrians.' We want Syria to be a free, prosperous, and independent place. But we have an experience. If an inclusive management model does not emerge, this time, unfortunately, gains are lost, and larger conflicts arise. A common will model must emerge in the middle.

"THE EU HAS ESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH HTS LEADER JOLANI"

Some Western countries only say this. They don't care what happens to the whole of Syria. Pay attention to the minority issue, they say. 90 percent of those who say this have not been able to solve the minority issue in their own countries. Some of them are developed countries. You cannot solve your own minority problem, and you are imposing a model on Syria. This is not about producing influence, but helping Syria. The diplomacy we are conducting, we are continuing these consultations with all circles, including the US and Europe. The EU has established contact with HTS Leader Jolani. Currently, they are saying, 'he is on the list, that's why we are cautious, but we are talking.' After your official administrator meets, this effectively disappears. There are those who remain terrorists even if they win. Does power determine truth, or does truth determine power? This is a topic that needs to be discussed separately. How much do these two concepts pass into each other and create a synthesis.

"OUR INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES NEVER WITHDREW FROM THE FIELD"

Turkey's meeting with Jolani, meeting with the Syrian National Army and small groups is not something that started today. Intelligence agencies were always meeting. Even though America characterizes it this way, don't intelligence agencies meet with them at all? If intelligence agencies do not meet in any way, they cannot know what is happening on the ground. Our intelligence agencies never withdrew from the field. There is a synchronized connection between the reality on the ground and our stance at the table.

"PEOPLE IN SYRIA WANT A NORMAL LIFE"

The PYD/YPG desires this the most, for something to break out between HTS and the Free Syrian [Army]. It's not like everything is going perfectly on the ground right now anyway. Turkey's stance, the presence of our intelligence and soldiers, was aimed at preventing the wave that would come to Turkey from there. Not having a model like the Baas regime's cut-copy-paste. Not having a major war break out. Managing Idlib and managing Syria are undoubtedly different. Pay attention, these are also respectable; it is said that criminals who were on the side of the regime from the beginning will not be judged with a revisionist approach, and this will be done through courts. It is said that the regime's constitution will be reviewed. That Christians will be under protection, that they will absolutely not be touched. It is said, 'we need to move from revolution to state.' We say, 'let an inclusive state model for everyone emerge.' It is not right to say Israel won because it will be a disaster scenario, nor is it right to say everything is rosy. The issue is just beginning. Steps to be taken before the words spoken are important. Let us hope that groups that have fought against a bloody dictator like Assad do this without clashing with each other in Syria and without taking risks. People in Syria want a normal life. He took the tank and turned it into a grocery store. Removing the dictator here is a success, but it is the beginning of the matter. Bad scenarios can emerge, there are great risks. We saw this in Libya, in Yemen. In some Arab countries, the earthquake changed 70 times, 80 times. Today, those who do not want Syria's territorial integrity, who do not respect its national sovereignty, want a conflict to break out between HTS and the Syrian National Army.

"WHEN THERE IS NO SUPPORTER, OTHER SYMPTOMS EMERGE"

The things said today, the messages given to Turkey are quite reasonable. It is evaluated that what Turkey says in the context of the Syrian people's national sovereignty and territorial integrity is met with appreciation. Some of the groups that made the revolution convinced their base, some could not. This will become clear during this process. This will evolve within itself. When these happened in some places, Western countries, instead of saying 'there is a democratic search here, let us help you,' judged and excluded them, just because they had a religious motif. One must be a supporter of a model that is inclusive and respects freedom of belief. When there is no supporter, other symptoms emerge.

"LET THOSE WHO DECIDE THE FUTURE OF SYRIA BE SYRIANS"

Turkey's great experience here is political software. Countries that are at peace with their traditions are at odds with the requirements of modern political management. Then there is a rupture between management and sociology. The great transformation Turkey experienced during the AK Party period is both establishing natural ties with sociology, establishing a healthy relationship with its tradition, and at the same time producing capacity in the most modern political openings. This is a source of inspiration. Everyone can apply it according to their own methods. Let those who decide the future of Syria be Syrians. Turkey stands here with all its experience and capacity. Our President is the most experienced leader in the world elected by democratic means. There is no group he does not know. The events he witnessed, the events he managed, followed, and concluded are something that would perhaps fit into a 200-year time frame. The latest reconciliation between Somalia and Ethiopia. His interlocution is at eye level, it is not looking down. Let there be cooperation, let us move to a win-win model. Let everyone's sovereignty and national honor be protected, this is what we say. Those who say let's make this place a satellite state have always come out worse. We do not want any place to be a satellite state, a collapsed state. Let us establish an equal relationship and walk this path by helping each other.

"OUR PRESIDENT'S POLITICAL EXPERIENCE HAS A UNIQUE SIDE"

Opposition groups are developing a good dialogue with the Russians. It is said 'we have established contact.' A dialogue is visible. What we see in many parts of the world is this; generally, the extreme hawks and those fighting are civilians. Those fighting have paid the price, they have seen the cost coming to their countries. When you look with a Western eye, when we sat Western politicians next to some people who would be labeled as radicals in some meetings, they first entered a slight 'was this right' attitude. We witnessed this a lot. At the end of the meeting, when the dinner was over, we saw that they were chatting. That is, giving an opportunity to transform. This is not metamorphosis. If you are building a wall when you do something, even if what you do is right in terms of values, it does not produce the right result. If you can build a bridge, you can develop walking models. Our President's political experience has a unique side. Our President is the only leader who meets with all sides of the picture.

"WE SAID HONORABLE AND VOLUNTARY RETURN"

It is not that rigid. Of course, there is a return policy. We said 'these people are fleeing from massacre.' Our President said 'let's create a safe zone inside Syria.' Obama had two red lines. He said if the Assad regime uses its air force, I will strike, the Assad regime used its air force but Obama's administration did not strike. Obama said if he uses chemical weapons, I will strike. Chemical weapons were also used, but the Obama administration did not strike. If there had been a no-fly zone, if Obama had kept his promise, if a shield had been formed, this migration issue would not have emerged. In the Kobani issue, Obama called our President and said 'Kobani is falling, do whatever you can for them.' At that time, we were opening a corridor for those in Northern Iraq to help Kobani, but the PKK prevented this. Even in the Rudow News Agency, there was news that the Peshmerga in Northern Iraq were going to help Kobani, but the PKK prevented this. The PKK does not care about the Kurds. Kurdish children are not the PKK's concern. Many Western states have different calculations here. Now I saw the statement made on behalf of France today. There is no one thinking about the Syrians in any way. It is thinking about French influence in Syria. Let not a group inside Syria lean on state A, another on state B, and another on us to do business. Let there not be a boss of Syria, let the Syrians be the boss. Our President has shown with his unique stance that he is on the side of all the Syrian people. At the point reached, where is there a similar Baas regime right now? It exists in the PYD/YPG region. It is one of the most important remnants left from the Baas regime. We said honorable and voluntary return. Work is being done regarding ensuring security. At the same time, the formation of an economy there. If he is farming, if he is growing olives. They also said 400 percent raise in salaries with the first decision they took. There are many things Turkey can help them with. Models are worked on. It is not said 'we closed the door behind you.' We are only talking about return. Today, an official of a country says 'this business is not over yet.' What does he mean? What is he talking about? I can say 100 percent correctly; someone speaking on behalf of the YPG/PYD says 'after the Assad regime collapsed, Turkey is squeezing us, DAESH started to gain positions.' I have no doubt that those DAESH elements are PKK members. PKK members wearing DAESH clothes. The West has evaluated them as guards so that they can run a DAESH nursery, right? We catch someone in very past times. The man is operating in the PKK as a terrorist, later he participated in activities in DAESH, at the same time he is connected to the intelligence of an EU member country. What is the only trump card in the hands of the YPG/PYD right now? The practice it does there is a micro-Baas regime. What is it doing in Raqqa? Let Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, everyone sit in their ancient places. Just as DAESH does not represent Arabs, the PKK does not represent Kurds.

"THEY WANT A CONFLICT TO BREAK OUT BETWEEN HTS AND THE SYRIAN NATIONAL ARMY"

They are playing on two things, the YPG wants to move the tension between Turkey and Israel to Syria. They want a conflict to break out between HTS and the Syrian National Army. One day while speaking in Parliament, a deputy came out, a party from the predecessors of the DEM Party. He talked about how they established democracy there. He accused our President. While our President was saying 'give equal citizenship to Syrian Kurds,' at that time, there was no topic of Syrian Kurds on their agenda. While the Syrian National Army was advancing towards Deir ez-Zor, American planes blew up two bridges so that it would not advance to the YPG.

"THE MOST TRUSTED COUNTRY IN SYRIA IS TURKEY"

We do not make our opinion about our President according to the compliments or criticisms of foreign heads of state. Özgür Özel touched on that today too. You talk to the Syrian National Army and ask 'who is the country you trust the most.' They have the Turkish flag in their hands. The people celebrating have Syrian and Turkish flags in their hands. The sociological ground of those who carry out this action sees Turkey as the most important friend and brother. This does not mean 'Turkey is behind this.'

"LET THE INTELLIGENCE ARCHIVES COME OUT, WE WILL SEE HOW INTIMATE ASSAD HAS BEEN WITH ISRAEL"

How did HTS do this? saying, some are getting at 'Turkey or the CIA was behind it.' If Russian and Iranian support had not come, it would have collapsed long ago in Syria. If Assad had taken a different attitude, this picture would never have been seen. Some images are being published to provoke different sectarian groups. Someone went and disrespected the tomb of Hz. Zeynep, thinking he was sending a message to Iran. These are either intelligence elements of other countries. Or they are agents trying to create conflict within the groups that carried out this revolution. This can come from both the PKK and DAESH. The tomb of Hz. Zeynep is a place where our hearts tremble. These are known provocations. Let the intelligence archives come out, we will see how intimate Assad has been with Israel. When our President was talking to a diplomat, his interlocutor said 'Assad is the fist of the resistance front.' Our President said 'Can you show that this fist works against any Israeli aggression?'

"THE EXPIRATION DATE OF THE PYD HAS PASSED"

There is a war above us. There is military activity below. During all this time, the TSK's analyses regarding the conflicts that have emerged have high accuracy. Their assessments regarding which operation will result in what were also determined with extremely high accuracy. It would be something to be proud of with this capacity of our armed forces. There is a product on the shelf, its expiration date has passed. The PYD is something like that. Its expiration date has passed but it is still on the shelf. They will probably bring the matter here, they said 'do not touch them in any way.' Looking at the screams of the PYD/PKK circle for 2 days outside these statements, it seems that there is a change in the reality on the ground. This is not at the point we want. They say we do not want any armed force other than Syria's army. The PYD/YPG does not have such a base. There are other Kurdish groups there. It is not that each of them supports the PYD/YPG. Active oil resources, natural gas resources are, for some reason, the region where the PYD/YPG is.

"WE SAID FROM THE BEGINNING THAT WE WILL NOT ALLOW A TERRORIST STATELET TO BE ESTABLISHED"

The US is not at the point we want, we need to see the results of these discourses. America was using the YPG as a proxy force. To keep the West in a coalition, it was saying 'against DAESH.' The PYD/YPG was guarding the prison where DAESH members were located. We said from the beginning that we will not allow a terrorist statelet to be established. Today, Syrians also express that they do not want armed forces in any way anyway.

"WE ARE AGAINST THE GENOCIDE COMMITTED BY ISRAEL"

We are against the genocide committed by Israel. Just because someone is fighting against Israel, we are not going to ignore his massacre. Is there any acceptable side to Assad's massacre just because he is against Israel for this reason? We think that what happened in Iraq and Libya should not happen in Syria, let no one play boss. The sentences coming from President Trump are an approach to Europeans regarding NATO, 'put your hand under the stone.' Macron made a big blunder and said 'NATO has suffered brain death.' Later, he used the word 'European Army.' We met Boris Johnson somewhere in Europe. I said to Johnson, 'Can Europeans establish a European Union Army?' He said, 'it will be debated for 5 years alone which language this army will speak.'

"IRAN IS AN IMPORTANT POWER IN THE REGION"

There is one key actor in this whole picture. Now, as Özgür Özel says, Erdoğan was wrong. Remember, from the very first moment, as soon as these events happened, our President met with Putin. He also explained the picture. He explained that this situation is not sustainable. Iran is an important power in the region. Turkey is looking for a synergy here. Not looking for patronage.

"WE SAY TWO-STATE SOLUTION"

There is no warship you did not send to the Mediterranean. Israel must stop this genocide immediately. These genocide criminals, especially Netanyahu, must be tried. This is a situation related to our basic principles. We do not call Netanyahu the Hitler of this age for nothing today. We say two-state solution. We are against Zionism. We withdrew our ambassador because this genocide massacre started.

"WE DO NOT SAY OUR VOTES INCREASED OR DECREASED BECAUSE OF THIS EVENT"

Believe me, when it was said that our votes decreased or increased regarding our stance on this issue, we did not turn and look at the poll, public opinion research. We do not say our votes increased or decreased because of this event. If we were going to think about votes. Before May 14-28, our President's stance would not have been like that. I am the AK Party Spokesperson. There was no agenda in the AK Party's meetings regarding the participation at this stage. This is evaluated when the time comes. No topic regarding participation passed in our meetings.

"ISRAEL WAS INVESTING IN THE PKK"

The President and Bahçeli said something clear. They spoke in the form of we want a state without terror. Because of this stance of ours against Turkey, Netanyahu was making an investment to use the PKK. His son attacked Turkey from social media. We see that some malicious projects want to use our Kurdish brothers here. The will put forward here is clearly to keep both those inside Turkey and other people in the region out of the hurricane. Kurds cannot be held responsible for the PKK, Arabs cannot be held responsible for DAESH. What Mr. Bahçeli said is to protect all our Kurdish brothers from this bad plan.

"WE SAY THAT ELECTIONS SHOULD BE HELD ON TIME"

In principle, we say that elections should be held on time. The war above, the Syria situation below. The boiling in the Balkans, early elections in Germany, they cannot find a prime minister in France. In this picture, taking Turkey to an election is irresponsibility.

"THE PERSON WHO HAS SOLVED THE MOST CRISES IS OUR PRESIDENT"

We wish for our President to serve the nation. I am not saying this in a partisan way. 28-29 years with our President. This is a real situation. Currently, the person who has been elected by democratic election in the world and has solved the most crises is our President. It is necessary to know that this is of jewel value for Turkey. While the world cannot find a leader...

"WE ARE NOT SEPARATING ANY MUNICIPALITY"

The statement made by the Ministry is this; no municipality, regardless of which party it is from, will be considered an exception. Think about the economic program being carried out. In this framework, this debt is almost largely multiplying. It is said, restructure this debt of yours. It is said, give real estate. Some municipalities don't even return. Now there is a Hatay Metropolitan Municipality here. It appears in the minister's statement. Earthquake region, the region that needs to be raised. Our mayor comes immediately and says 'I am open to any restructuring offer, I will take the necessary steps to pay these debts of mine.' Otherwise, the ministry's statement is clear; all municipalities. There is a large action plan prepared. Unfortunately, it came out after this election. It reached its peak today. After the election, the CHP says 'you are general, we are local government.' As if there were two legal systems in Turkey. Who does the SGK serve? It serves the citizen.

News Source: 12punto