By Serdar Dincel and Seyit Kurt
ISTANBUL (AA) - The era of terrorism in the region is over, said the Turkish president on Monday, stressing that the terms of the new ceasefire and full integration agreements in Syria must be met and miscalculations avoided.
Syrians appear pleased with Sunday’s agreement, except for a handful of proxies seeking to set up a "state within a state," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.
Erdogan said he told Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa that Ankara will continue to stand by Damascus in the fight against terrorism, adding: "We will not abandon the Syrian people."
Türkiye believes a unified and territorially intact Syria is vital for regional prosperity, he stressed, adding: "Syria belongs to the Syrians."
Ankara is a brother, a neighbor, and a friend to the Syrian people in times of need, Erdogan added, noting that Syria belongs to the Syrian people in all their various religious and ethnic groups, including Arabs, Turkmens, Kurds, Alawites, Sunnis, and Druzes.
"To ensure that the suffering faced a century ago is not repeated, we will not fall into the traps set before us and will not give in to provocations," he underscored.
On Sunday evening, Sharaa announced a ceasefire and an agreement for the full integration of the terrorist group YPG/SDF into state institutions.
The announcement followed a Syrian Army operation regaining wide areas in eastern and northeastern Syria after repeated SDF violations of agreements signed with Damascus nearly a year ago.