No way Türkiye can be silent in face of growing terror threat: President

By Diyar Guldogan and Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye cannot be expected to stay silent in the face of the growing terror threat along its southern border, the country's president said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in the capital Ankara before flying to Turkmenistan to attend the first Türkiye-Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan trilateral summit, Erdogan said, "It is not possible for Türkiye to remain silent on terror attacks launched from northern Syria," without specifying the date for a possible land operation across the border into northern Syria to eliminate the threat.

Türkiye will never compromise on terror attacks, Erdogan said, adding that he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to take steps along these lines, referring to Sunday's phone talks between the two leaders on the 2019 Sochi deal.

"Unfortunately we face a threat from terrorists, and recently it has grown sharply," he added.

Erdogan is set to attend the first summit between the leaders of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan in the western Turkmen city of Awaza​​​​​​​.