UPDATE – 'Turkey will soon clear all Daesh remnants from Syria'

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES BY TURKISH PRESIDENT</p> <p>By Nilay Kar Onum</p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish forces will very soon clear all Daesh remnants from Syria, the terrorists deliberately left there and trained against Turkey, the country’s president said on Monday. </p> <p>“We will very soon bring peace, security, and stability east of the Euphrates River, just as we did in other regions [in Syria],” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, referring to a promised counter-terrorist operation across Turkey’s borders, following up on two similar operations since 2016.</p> <p>“In this regard, we continue to be in contact with powers which have a military presence in the field, particularly the U.S. and Russia,” he told a Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) event in Istanbul.</p> <p>“Positive talks” have been held with both Washington and Russia, he added.</p> <p>“As we continue our diplomatic efforts, we, at the same time, have completed our preparations for the next step.</p> <p>“Our goal, in this process, is particularly to strengthen our own national security and guarantee Syria’s territorial integrity,” Erdogan said.</p> <p>In recent days, Turkish officials said Turkey has completed all preparations for an operation east of the Euphrates in northern Syria, which Ankara said would serve territorial integrity in the war-torn country.</p> <p>Since 2016, Turkey’s Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in northwestern Syria have liberated the region, including Al-Bab, Afrin and Azaz, of YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, making it possible for Syrians who fled violence there to return home.</p> <p>In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children. The YPG/PYD is the group's Syrian branch.</p> <p>Erdogan also lamented how the cries of the oppressed continue to arise from various corners of the Islamic world. </p> <p>&quot;The Islamic world has been unable to carry out an effective and successful struggle to cope with crises taking place in most of its territories,” he said.</p> <p>The president stated that the root cause of many problems faced in today’s world was not lacking of financial means, but lack of mercy and empathy.</p> <p>Speaking of Turkey’s aid efforts, he said: “We have not treated those people, who had to leave their countries, as they are plague-stricken people just as so-called human rights defender countries did.”</p> <p>Without naming, he said many western countries are marginalizing refugees, isolating them from society and viewing them as the root cause of all problems.</p> <p>According to the UN figures, Turkey has so far allocated $35 billion for all refugees, including four million Syrians, he added.