Speaking to reporters at the provincial representation of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in the central Anatolian province of Kirikkale, Besir Atalay said that certain issues in Turkey were exaggerated and certain incidents in Syria were used as a tool to criticize the Turkish government.
"Turkey is a great state. There are incidents taking place at our border with Syria. There is a great turmoil in Syria now. There could be certain positions in such a turmoil. Once the incidents (of violence) in Syria end, we will not see such positions. What is crucial now is the big incident taking place in Syria. Various members of the terrorist organization PKK stage demonstrations in small locations of northern Syria. They should not be exaggerated. Once order gets established in Syria, those demonstrations will end. This is how we look at the incidents in north of Syria," Atalay stressed.
"As Turkey, we follow the developments in Syria closely and with sensitivity. What we must focus on is the violence that Assad forces implement and the resulting human casualties," Atalay noted.
"In the past two days, around 1,200 Syrians have entered Turkey after fleeing clashes in their country. The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey has reached 50,000. Such a situation is highly important for Turkey," Atalay said.
-Military operations in south-eastern Turkey-
The operations of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in south-eastern Turkey began after certain evaluations and the operations continue with high accuracy, Atalay stressed.
"Detailed information on the military operations may be shared by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan or the Turkish General Staff. The operations continue successfully," Atalay noted.
