ISTANBUL

Türkiye is pleased to see Syrian people striving to rebuild their country despite difficulties, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday, noting that the smooth implementation of Syria's March 10 agreement will disrupt the plans of malign actors investing in a weak, divided, and unstable Syria.

“We are pleased to see Syrian people striving to rebuild their country over the past year despite all the hardships, and the devastation left by the Assad dictatorship,” Erdogan said in his address at the Human Rights Day event in Ankara.

Erdogan recalled that Monday marked the first anniversary of the Syrian revolution and the Syrian people’s Dec. 8 Liberation Day, congratulating the Syrian nation on behalf of Türkiye and its people for resisting the oppressor for more than 13 years despite “every form of persecution, brutality, savagery, and torture that shames humanity.”

He emphasized that Türkiye and the Turkish nation fully support Syria and the Syrian people’s efforts for reconstruction, recovery, and rebuilding with all means.

Erdogan stressed that the Syrian revolution had overcome its most difficult phase in the past year, expressing confidence that with prudent, determined, inclusive, and just governance, Syria would never return to its dark days.

He added that with the implementation of the March 10 agreement, Syria will move toward the future as a prosperous, victorious, and respected country with full territorial integrity.

On March 10, an agreement was announced by the Syrian presidency that envisioned integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- dominated by the YPG/PKK terror group -- into Syria’s state apparatus, stressing the country’s territorial integrity and rejecting any separatist designs.

Türkiye’s long-standing solidarity with Syria

Erdogan emphasized Türkiye’s long-standing support for Syrians, highlighting efforts like building safe zones and resisting pressure to return refugees, and noted that Türkiye will continue to stand by Syrians in both war and peace.

The president said Turks, Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Sunnis, and Alawites would stand shoulder to shoulder to rebuild and revive Syria together.

“We will achieve this not by fearing, doubting one another or, worse, by fighting, but by trusting, believing in, and showing solidarity with each other,” Erdogan said.

He drew attention to the emergence of a new Syria, noting that in the streets of Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, and Homs, young people who had lived in or were born in Türkiye are now speaking Turkish. He added that those returning to their homes after over 13 years of separation say: “May Allah be pleased with Türkiye and the Turkish nation.”

Erdogan highlighted the rise of a brotherly, Turkish-speaking state near Türkiye, likening it to Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He celebrated this revival as a testament to solidarity and expressed faith that oppressors, as seen in Syria, will ultimately face justice.

Palestine will be crowned with victory, peace, freedom

The Turkish president also added that the oppressed people in Palestine “will see their patience crowned with victory, and freedom and peace will come with a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Recalling that the Palestinian people have suffered greatly for decades, enduring indescribable torture, losing loved ones and children, and seeing their homes destroyed, Erdogan said: “The Palestinian people, whose lives and lands have been stolen, will live safely in their own homeland. No dirty, bloody, or treacherous plan will be able to stop this.”

He emphasized that every scenario, scheme, and trap of the massacre networks that see themselves as invincible is ultimately under God’s decree, and that they have not and will not lose hope.

“We will also sing the victory anthems in Palestine, just as we did together in Syria,” Erdogan said, noting that patience, determination, hope, and struggle overcome the darkness.

Türkiye not only protects borders but builds peace

"Unlike others, we do not wonder what will be placed before us; wherever there is oppression, we stand tall beside the oppressed and against the oppressor,” the president stressed.

He underlined that Türkiye defends justice, rights, peace, and human dignity with courage, “not only in our region but across the world.”

"I say with pride that when people hear the name Türkiye, they now think not only of a country that protects its borders, but one that builds peace and shapes diplomacy,” Erdogan added.

Türkiye, as a state that helps build order, inspires confidence among millions from the Middle East to the Caucasus, from Africa to South Asia, especially in friendly and brotherly nations, he said.

Türkiye strives to fulfill its responsibilities in many crisis zones, from Gaza to Syria, from the Russia‑Ukraine war to tensions in East Africa, under the motto “Strong Türkiye for Humanity,” Erdogan stressed.

“Türkiye’s principled stance on Syria and Gaza is, by itself, a lesson in human rights, a human rights epic,” the president said.

"From the very first day in both cases, we made our position clear. We did not yield to pressure, threats, or those impoverished in spirit who aligned themselves with oppressors for various reasons. With our hands, our words, and our hearts, we have worked to stop oppression,” Erdogan added.