Also former Head of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Akar took part in negotiating US withdrawal from Syria with the then-Trump Administration.
Also former Head of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Akar took part in negotiating US withdrawal from Syria with the then-Trump Administration.
By Adnan Türkkan, Ankara / Türkiye
Former Chief of General Staff and current Chairman of the National Defense Commission in the Turkish Parliament, Hulusi Akar, responded to journalists’ questions in Ankara. We also directed our questions to Mr. Akar.
Akar addressed the issues of the US’s troops in Syria Türkiye’s fight against terrorism, relations with the Syrian government and the threat that Israel poses to Türkiye and the war in Ukraine.
He emphasized that “We cannot predict whether Donald Trump will withdraw US’s troops from Syria, but we will continue our fight against terrorism without relying on external decisions”. Om the long-discussed issue of relations with Syria, Akar said that “the Syrian regime appears indecisive about cooperation”
“Indecisiveness” of the Syrian government
Hulusi Akar noted that efforts are ongoing in Syria to restore normal living conditions for refugees. He said “As life normalizes, nearly 700,000 Syrians have returned home from Türkiye in a safe, voluntary and dignified manner. This case is also answer to the opposition in Türkiye, so the Syrian people already want to return to their homes.”
Regarding normalization between Türkiye and the Syrian regime, Akar stated “The thing is not that the ‘Syrian regime want that or not’. We haven’t reached that point yet. Russia is mediating. We held trilateral and quadrilateral talks involving Russia and Iran. Russia and Iran also have influence here. The US has influence in east of the Euphrates and Russia in west of the Euphrates.
“If we withdraw troops from Syria, what about terrorists?”
Akar continued addressing the Turkish troops in Syria: “The Syrian regime’s intentions are unclear. Are they speaking for themselves or being directed by others? While we hold direct talks with them, they seem sincere. But their overall objectives are hard to discern. We continue our efforts to defend our rights in accordance with international law. They demand: “Withdraw your troops”. Okay, but we ask, “What about the terrorists?” These are groups that bombed places like Reyhanlı and Kilis in Türkiye.
“We will focus on our own work”
Hulusi Akar participated in talks over the US’s troop withdrawals from Syria during the first Trump term. Akar criticized the US for not keeping its 2019 promises: “The US is a complex country. Their military officials and some ambassadors often misrepresent the facts to Washington, leading to conflicting decisions. Everything was explained face-to-face to Trump at the White House. On fighting ISIS, we emphasized: ‘We’ll handle it; we’ve neutralized 4,000 ISIS members’. They said, ‘We will leave Syria. Our target is the Pacific’. We do not know whether they leave or not. We’ll focus on safeguarding our national security and won’t leave it to others’ discretion”.
“Fight against the PKK will continue till the last terrorist is neutralized”
Akar also commented on Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s statements regarding the PKK. Bahçeli had said “If Öcalan declares that the terrorist organization will lay down arms, he can benefit from the right to hope”. Hulusi Akar praised Bahçeli as a leader who, with his “wise personality, experience and views, has always made a mark in history and has always drawn a direction”.
While Akar called Bahçeli’s statement “a way, a proposition”, he also tressed there is no shift in Türkiye’s stance in fighting terrorism. He reiterated that “the fight against PKK will persist relentlessly until the last terrorist is neutralized, which is our unchanging target”.
“Israel is a major threat to us”
Regarding questions whether Israel poses a threat to Türkiye, Hulusi Akar stated:
“During World War II, Denmark’s occupation took six hours. This is no joke. Is Israel a threat to us? Yes, it is a major threat. Would you leave the lives of 85 million citizens of the Turkish Republic to the hands of chance? Does Israel have weapons? Yes. Ammunition? Yes. Proximity? Yes. Location? Yes. The only things matter here is timing. Therefore, we must be prepared”.
“Ukraine is a proxy”
On the war between Ukraine and Russia, Akar explained:
“This is a hybrid war. There is no declaration of war, but all kinds of aggression are present. Ukraine exemplifies this. Isn’t the US and Europe fighting Russia right now? Again, there is no declarations, but they provide all the support to Ukraine. It’s like saying, ‘I won’t fight, but I’ll use the proxy’. In this case, Ukraine is the proxy, and the US and EU are the supporters.”