Turkey will defend its southern border: PM

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Friday that Turkey will not allow the existence of an "artificial state" at its southern border.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara after Friday prayers, Yıldırım said that Turkey will defend its borders against any threat.

“We will not tolerate any efforts to form an artificial state at our borders, particularly the borders we share with Syria and Iraq.”

“Under no circumstances, we will hesitate to respond in the future, as we did in the past, if we face an attack on our sovereignty and security,” he added.

The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Speaking about a recent interview by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to a German newspaper, he said, “Kılıçdaroğlu should stop saying Turkey is unsafe.”

In his interview, the opposition leader had said that German citizens should stop traveling to Turkey as it is unsafe, a charge he later denied.