Mr. President,

I welcome today’s meeting and I thank Special Envoy Pedersen and USG Griffiths for their briefings. I also would like to salute Dr Amani Ballour.

I also thank the Secretary General for his report on the UN humanitarian operations in Syria, submitted pursuant to Resolution 2585.

Mr. President,

These humanitarian operations are vital for the people of Syria.
Deliveries of food have saved millions of civilians.
1.1 million doses of vaccine have protected Syrians against the secondary threat of COVID-19.
These cross-border operations are undertaken in line with the universally agreed-upon principles of the United Nations, including transparency.
There is no hidden agenda.
The aim is simple: to save lives.

Mr. President,

We have heard from USG Griffiths that the distribution of cross-line aid has begun.
Each and every cross-line mission requires risk assessments and negotiations with different actors.
Shelling or other attacks by the regime and its backers continue to target supply routes, warehouses and distribution points of UN agencies and NGOs.
I assure you that Türkiye remains committed to ensuring the safe continuation of these missions into the future.
However, we note that even with the full implementation of the existing planning, the cross-line convoys cannot replace or replicate the size and scope of the cross-border operation.
It is clear that there is no feasible alternative to the cross-border mechanism.

Mr. President,

No one wants the Syrian people to be dependent on humanitarian aid.
The cross-border mechanism is saving the lives of Syrians right now, but their future will be saved by successful negotiations that lead to sustained peace.
Sustained peace where families sleep in their own homes without fear.
Sustained peace where children walk to school, carefree, with full bellies.
But delays on the political process prolong the suffering of the Syrian people.
Thus far, the regime has been unwilling to seriously engage in UN-led peace talks in Geneva.
The next round of the Constitutional Committee must be held as soon as possible. Moreover, this round should produce tangible results.
We support the Special Envoy’s ‘step for step’ initiative to accelerate the political process.
It is highly critical that these consultations align with the international community’s acquis on the Syrian conflict as well as the letter and spirit of Resolution 2254.
As we all know, a sustainable solution to the Syrian conflict can only be achieved by protecting Syria's territorial integrity and unity; through political means based on Resolution 2254.
Mr. President,

The other hurdle in reaching a political solution is the ceasefire violations by the regime and its backers.
Victims of these violations are innocent civilians whom international humanitarian law has sought to protect.
And of course, the security impact of the prolonged conflict is not confined to Syria. It also affects the surrounding region, including my own country.
The situation in Syria creates a breeding ground for terrorist organisations.
Attacks perpetrated by PKK/YPG, and its off-shoot, the Syrian Democratic Forces, take the lives of defenceless Syrians, and indeed Turkish citizens in my own country.
No Member State can, or should, tolerate deliberate attacks against its own people or territory.
As such, we once again invite the members of the international community to see the real face of PKK/YPG and its violations of international humanitarian law, including:
· the documented deliberate bombing of civilian targets, including hospitals;

· the abduction by force, and recruitment, of children – as certified by the United Nations;

· the use of violence to suppress civilian demonstrations in response to hardship including increases in the price of basic goods such as bread and gasoline;

· and the heinous act of blocking the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes, by threat of death – often at gunpoint.

Mr. President,

We wish for a world free from terror.
History has proven that backing one terrorist group to do your bidding against another terrorist organisation has never worked out in the long run.
It is my duty to warn that supporting terrorist organization extensions under the guise of fighting DAESH will not yield the results you hope for.
I ask all members of the UN to exercise caution when rolling out the red carpet to terrorist leaders.
By endorsing these actors, you are legitimizing terror.
Today’s crimson carpet can very quickly turn to a flow of blood.
You do not want to have the blood of innocent Syrians on your hands.

Mr. President,

Just two days ago our Twitter timelines were flooded with a hashtag: International Day of Migration.
In Türkiye, every day is a day of migration.
For ten years now, we have welcomed around 4 million Syrian refugees who fled their homes in search of safety.
Tens of thousands of Syrian children have taken their first breaths, and their first steps, in Türkiye.
We want them to know their homeland, their culture, their language.
No child should grow up in exile.
A hashtag is all well and good, but a home is better.
I fear that history will define this Council, as the hashtag generation.
Each month we come to this Chamber. We speak. We Tweet. We leave.
We return the following month, and go through the motions again.
I remind you that we are the last chance for the people of Syria.
Is this the best we can come up with?
Perhaps, instead of Tweeting our New Year’s Resolutions, we can actually do something to save the Syrian people.

As to the hallucinatory statement made by the criminal Syrian regime representative, I will repeat, I do not consider him as my legitimate counterpart, his presence here is an affront to the millions of Syrians who suffered countless crimes at the hands of the regime and therefore I will not honor his delusional accusations with a response.

Thank you.