Turkey recognizes the territorial integrity of all neighboring countries.

APA reports with reference to the Ministry of Defense of Turkey that Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said this in his statement regarding the tripartite meeting of the defense ministers of Russia, Turkey and Syria in Moscow.

Hulusi Akar, while evaluating the results of the meeting with his colleagues from Russia and Syria, said that Turkey recognizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all neighboring countries, including Syria and Iraq.

Talking about the results of the meeting, Akar said that Turkey's opinion and position were conveyed to the parties, and the positions of other parties were also heard.

He reminded that Turkey is fighting terrorism.

"One of the most important issues we discussed during the meeting was the fight against terrorism.

We emphasized that we respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty rights of all our neighbors, especially Syria and Iraq, and that our only goal is the fight against terrorism, and we have no other goal.

We stated that our goals are to neutralize the members of terrorist organizations such as PKK/YPG and ISIS, which pose a threat to Syria.

We said that we are making efforts to ensure the security of our country, our nation, our borders," said Akar.

The minister said that the issue of Syrian refugees was also discussed.

"During the meeting, we also noted that one of our main goals is to prevent more migration of people from Syria to Turkey.

Among other things, we emphasized that it is important to solve the Syrian problem in a comprehensive and unified manner within the framework of UN Security Council (SC) Resolution No. 2254.

We think that the work to be carried out in this direction in the coming days will make a significant contribution to peace and stability in the region and Syria."

Akar also announced that an agreement was reached on the continuation of trilateral meetings with Russia and Syria: "Our wish is to ensure peace, tranquility and stability in the region as soon as possible.

For this, as we have done so far, we will continue to fulfill our duties and make the necessary contributions."

It should be noted that Hulusi Akar went from Ankara to Moscow, the capital of Russia, together with Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT), in the morning of December 28.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and MIT head Hakan Fidan, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas, Russian and Syrian intelligence chiefs met during the three-way meeting held in Moscow and lasted for about two hours.