20 February 2017•Update: 21 February 2017
By Emin Avundukluoglu
ANKARA
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has said the international community should support the local population in Raqqah once the city is cleared of Daesh terrorists.
Speaking after a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Ankara on Monday, Kurtulmus shared Turkey's point of view over the joint operation to recapture the Syrian city of Raqqah from the Daesh terror group.
He gave the example of Syria's Al-Bab city where the native population was expected to be allowed to settle in once it gets cleared of Daesh.
"We can use the same model in Raqqah. International community should support the capable local population in Raqqah, which consists of the [local] population of the city. Turkey, U.S., and other elements can give logistic support to this city," he said
He added: "[This city] should not be left in the hands of other terrorist organizations."
He also said Turkey's position on terrorist organizations would never change, no matter what other countries do.
"Our position against terrorist organizations will never change. Both Daesh and PKK will be seen as terrorist organizations," he said.
The Turkey-led Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August 2016 to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey proposed that the U.S. should send its own Special Forces to northern Syria to back moderate opposition forces fighting against Daesh.
On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's target after liberating Al-Bab, Syria, from Daesh is the town of Manbij, and clearing the terrorist PKK's Syrian offshoot, PYD, from the region.
An upcoming target is Raqqah, a Syrian city on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River.
Erdogan added, “As you know, Raqqah is the most important center for Daesh, so I have told Mr. Donald Trump that we, as coalition forces, are together for the goal of clearing the region of Daesh."
Meanwhile, Kurtulmus also criticized Germany's claims that clerics of Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) were involved in espionage. "No religious official of Turkey abroad, no member of DITIB is a spy," he said.
He also pointed out the increase in Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti refugee sentiment in Europe. "Both German politicians and European politicians should be awake to these hostilities," he said.
