Turkey pleased for Azeri, Georgian support against FETO

By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Head of a foreign affairs committee with the Turkish parliament on Wednesday expressed his country's gratitude with the support Azerbaijan and Georgia extended on Ankara's fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO.

"I thank Azerbaijan and Georgia for their strong support in our fight against FETO," Volkan Bozkir told his visiting Azeri and Georgian counterparts during a meeting in the Turkish capital.

"We should continue our cooperation against this treacherous terror group for the sake of our respective nations," said Bozkir, a ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's lawmaker from Istanbul province.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Samad Seyidov, the head of the foreign affairs committee of the Azerbaijani parliament, praised Turkey's ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Syria.

"Turkey will end terror with this operation. This operation is not only for the security of Turkey but also for the world," said Seyidov.

"Azerbaijan is on Turkey's side against those who support terrorism," he said.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG/PKK-Daesh terrorists from Afrin.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.

The military also said only terror targets are being destroyed and that "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.