Erdogan: There is now a new reality in Syria

(Patria) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that there is now a new reality in neighboring Syria, where Turkey has long supported opposition forces and carried out incursions against Kurdish forces it considers terrorists, Al Arabiya reported.

Erdogan spoke as Syrian opposition fighters entered the suburbs of the city of Homs, sources said, paving the way towards Damascus in a lightning advance as front lines collapse and government forces struggle to save the twenty-four-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

"There is now a new reality in Syria, politically and diplomatically. And Syria belongs to the Syrians with all its ethnic, sectarian, and religious elements," Erdogan said in a speech in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

"The people of Syria are the ones who will decide the future of their country," he added.

Ankara has for years supported Syrian opposition forces seeking to overthrow Assad, who is supported by Iran and Russia.

"As Turkey, our wish is for our neighbor Syria to quickly regain the peace, stability, and tranquility it has longed for for thirteen years," he said.

He added that the best way for the region to deal with the situation would be for "responsible actors and all international organizations" to support the preservation of Syria's territorial integrity.

Turkey's main concern is the presence of the YPG militia in northern Syria, which it considers a terrorist group, closely linked to militants in Turkey who are part of a forty-year insurgency against the Turkish state.