UPDATE - Turkey to never allow 'terror nests' near its borders

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS OF TURKISH VICE PRESIDENT FUAT OKTAY, ADDS BACKGROUND

By Kerem Kocalar

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey (AA) - Turkey will never allow "terror nests" near its borders, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday.

"The security of our borders is our pride and we will never allow terror nests to exist there," Oktay said at a ceremony to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the liberation of the southern Kahramanmaras province.

The terrorists trying to pose a threat to Turkey's southern borders will also not be able to escape the "tragic end" waiting for them, Oktay said, recalling the fate of terrorists in Jarabulus city and Al-Bab region in Syria.

Since 2016, Turkey’s Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in northwestern Syria have liberated the region -- including Al-Bab, Afrin, and Azaz -- from YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, making it possible for Syrians who fled the violence there to return home.

Turkey fights to eliminate terrorist organizations and those supporting them, he stressed.

"At the same time, we maintain our principled and determined stance in foreign policy," Oktay added.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children. The YPG is its Syrian branch.