JAKARTA
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Daesh’s actions bear no relation to Turkey's "religion, morality, conscience or culture".
Erdogan, addressing Indonesian students at a Jakarta conference on Turkish foreign policy, said that both Turkey's and the international community's security is under threat today due to the situation in Syria.
He added that the regime of Bashar al-Assad had tried “dirty methods” - including chemical weapons, ballistic missiles and terrorist organizations - in a struggle against its own people.
"The terrorist organization Daesh is a product of such a perception, such a project. This organization's actions bear no relation to our religion, morality, conscience or culture," Erdogan said.
Erdogan added that accusations that Turkey was a "transitional" country for foreign fighters to join Daesh in Syria were “disturbing” and "baseless claims".
"We, from the beginning, want nothing but peace, prosperity and tranquility for the whole Middle East," he said, adding: "The allegations against Turkey about foreign fighters acting in Syria are totally baseless."
Turkey shares an 900 kilometer (560 mile) border with Syria. Turkish officials have repeatedly said Turkey is cooperating with other countries to stop the flow of foreign fighters into volatile neighboring states.
Erdogan called for closer cooperation against xenophobia, discrimination and Islamophobia.
"Recently, discriminatory actions in Europe against Muslims make us sad," he said. "Turkey, which has five million citizens living in Europe, is the country most affected by such negativity."
With the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, the Mediterranean Sea had become "the most problematic area in the world, instead of being a sea of peace," Erdogan told the students.
Turning to Turkey's bid to join the EU, Erdogan said Turkey had reached the democratic standards of the union. "That is why we can stand strong against all the threatening and chaotic environments that are circling our country," he said.
He ended by vowing to fight terrorism "even if Turkey stands alone battling it".
