Erdogan Says Turkey Will Remain in Syria 'until Syrian People are Free'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Reuters)
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Erdogan Says Turkey Will Remain in Syria 'until Syrian People are Free'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Reuters)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkish forces, which have carried out several incursions into northern Syria since 2016, would remain in the country until Syrians can live in freedom and safety.

“Nowadays they are holding an election, a so-called election,” Erdogan said of a parliamentary election on Sunday in Syria’s government-controlled regions, after nearly a decade of war.

“Until the Syrian people are free, peaceful and safe, we will remain in this country,” he said in a speech in Ankara.



Blinken Says More than a Third of Israeli Forces in Lebanon Have Withdrawn

A member of the Spanish UNIFIL peacekeepers forces stands in front of the rubble of destroyed buildings during a patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Borj al-Mlouk, near the border with Israel, on January 7, 2025, amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
A member of the Spanish UNIFIL peacekeepers forces stands in front of the rubble of destroyed buildings during a patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Borj al-Mlouk, near the border with Israel, on January 7, 2025, amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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Blinken Says More than a Third of Israeli Forces in Lebanon Have Withdrawn

A member of the Spanish UNIFIL peacekeepers forces stands in front of the rubble of destroyed buildings during a patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Borj al-Mlouk, near the border with Israel, on January 7, 2025, amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
A member of the Spanish UNIFIL peacekeepers forces stands in front of the rubble of destroyed buildings during a patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Borj al-Mlouk, near the border with Israel, on January 7, 2025, amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said that more than a third of Israeli forces in Lebanon have withdrawn since the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Blinken, speaking to reporters in Paris, said that while challenges remain, the oversight mechanism put together by the United States and France to address concerns about ceasefire violations is working and functioning well.