Ankara [Turkey], November 23: German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Tuesday expressed Germany's solidarity with Türkiye in the latter's fight against terrorism, but stressing that it "must be carried out in accordance with the laws of state."
The German minister made the remarks at a press conference with her Turkish counterpart SuleymanSoylu on the second day of her two-day visit to Ankara.
"It is necessary to take into account ... the protection of civilians and we believe that it is necessary to be careful, especially in terms of preventing violence from escalating," she added, referring to Türkiye's recent cross-border military operations in Syria and Iraq.
In response to Faeser's statements, Soylu defended Türkiye's operations in Syria and Iraq.
"They (terrorists) want to establish a terror state around us. We cannot allow that. It is our duty to protect our borders and our nation," he said.
The Turkish minister said Türkiye wants the terrorist groups around the country to be considered in the same way that Europe handled terrorist strikes on its own soil.
Türkiye carried out aerial operations on Sunday against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Ankara sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK.
The airstrikes were launched after a bomb explosion killed at least six people and wounded another 81 in a busy street of Türkiye's largest city Istanbul on Nov. 13.
After the explosion, Turkish police said they had detained a Syrian woman named AhlamAlbashir, who admitted to taking orders from the YPG.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for over three decades.
Source: Xinhua
