Portugal Colonial - Turkey troops to stay in Syria, Iraq 'until border security ensured', defence minister tells AFP

"We are maintaining our military presence in Iraq and Syria," he said in a written answer to AFP questions.

"When we assess that the necessary conditions have been met in terms of regional and border security, the status of our base areas and our presence in the region will be reconsidered."

Turkey has for years maintained troops in northern Syria and Iraq to contain the threat along its borders posed by separatist militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and from Islamic State (IS) jihadists.

But over the past two years, the situation has shifted with the emergence of a new Ankara-allied government in Syria following Bashar al-Assad's fall, and following Turkey's push to draw a line under its decades-long conflict with the PKK.

Since Assad's fall, Turkey had established "close coordination in the field of security" with the new Syrian government, with its troops working to "strengthen the capacity" of the Syrian military and "to ensure the security of our borders", the minister said.

"Once the terrorist threat in the region has been completely eliminated, border security has been ensured, and state authority has been fully and uniformly established throughout Syria without exception, the status of our forces will be reassessed," he said.

When the Assad regime fell, Turkey had between 16,000 and 18,000 troops in northern Syria, a Turkish official said.

Since then, there has been no reliable figure for troops deployed in Syria, although a Turkish official last month said talks were under way to determine their legal status there.

But Guler refused to be drawn on any future plans.

"At this stage it would not be appropriate to make a prior assessment regarding deployment or base plans that have not been made public," he said.

"Issues related to the future posture of the Turkish armed forces in Syria will be addressed by taking into account Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the mutual understanding of the two countries, the security conditions on the ground and the evolution of the terrorist threat."

- Troop numbers according to needs -

Turkish troops have also long been operational in northern Iraq, regularly conducting cross-border operations and air raids on PKK hideouts, while maintaining their own bases there -- putting a strain on ties between Ankara and Baghdad.

Troops have been based there since 2015, and today they number between 800 and 1,000, an Iraqi security source told AFP.

Without disclosing any figures, Guler said troop numbers in both Iraq and Syria were assessed in proportion to what was needed on the ground.

"It would not be accurate to assess our military presence in Iraq and Syria solely on the basis of personnel numbers. Our force structure and posture on the ground are shaped according to needs" linked to threat levels, border security and developments on the ground, he said.

As the PKK process has advanced, the Kurdish militants destroyed weapons at a symbolic ceremony last year, and this month, withdrew from four key bases in northern Iraq in a move confirmed by Turkish intelligence.

For lasting success, the PKK must "fully implement their decision to dissolve" with Turkey "meticulously monitoring the next phases of the process" while not dropping its guard.

"The progress of the process doesn't mean security measures have been relaxed," he said, with troops continuing to "take the necessary measures" against any situation viewed as a security threat.

Like in Syria, Turkey was also closely watching Iraq's own efforts "to disarm militia groups and bring them under state control", he said, hailing recent successes in the Sinjar region.

Iraq has set a June 30 deadline for pro-Iran factions to hand over their weapons to the state following the end of the US-led coalition's mission there.

Following the successful Sinjar push, Turkey said last month it would "gradually" hand control to Baghdad of its Bashiqa base near the northern city of Mosul although no timeline was given.

Turkey would continue to support Iraq and was planning "to elevate military and security cooperation between the two countries to a higher level" in the coming period, he said.

P.Cavaco--PC