Turkey ‘protector’ of all aggrieved groups in Syria, says FM Fidan

Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan has stated that his country is the “protector” of all aggrieved groups in Syria, “Nusayris, Alawites, Yazidis, Christians, whoever they are.” He noted that Turkey would “stand by whoever is persecuted.”

Saturday January 04 2025 10:46 pm

Duvar English

Turkey is the “protector” of all aggrieved groups in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed on Jan. 2 during a joint news conference with his Belgian counterpart Bernard Quintin in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Fidan said Turkey “looks at what is done and how it is done, not who does it and to whom it is done” in its foreign policy.

“Turkey is the protector of everyone who feels worried,” Fidan noted.

“(Just as) Turkey did not hesitate to accept the refugees who sought asylum in the face of persecution... Turkey is the protector of any majority or minority in Syria who feels distressed and worried, Nusayris, Alawites, Yazidis, Christians, whoever they are,” he added.

The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus last month, toppling President Bashar al-Assad and ending the 13-year civil war.

However, Syria's Kurdish factions are facing mounting threats as Ankara seeks to isolate them.

Turkey regards the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed "terrorists" by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.

“The new Syrian administration is also extremely sensitive about this issue. I hope nothing will happen, but if it does, our President (Erdoğan) is extremely sensitive about this issue and his principles are clear. Whoever is persecuted, we stand by the persecuted,” Fidan concluded.