Turkish minister of defense said on Saturday that Turkish troops will not leave Syria "till our borders and people are secure."

Minister Yasar Guler told Ankara correspondents of pro-government daily Sabah and broadcaster A Haber that "Turkey sincerely seeks peace, but we are sensitive about certain things. It is inconceivable that we abandon these territories before securing our borders and our people. I believe the Syrian president will also start acting with more reason. A crucial step towards peace in Syria will the ratification of a new constitution."

Guler's remarks came three days after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied plans for a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, saying, "Our goal is [Turkey’s] withdrawal from Syrian territory, while Erdogan’s goal is to legitimize the presence of Turkey’s occupation in Syria."

Minister Guler also said that during their latest military campaign in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, they have discovered far more secret caves and stocks of ammunition and sustenance items of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) than previously estimated.

"We unfortunately suffer losses there, but these attacks are immediately responded," he added.

Accusing "the Western allies of PKK" for the continuation of clashes, Guler claimed that a senior official of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) told a PKK media outlet some six-seven months ago that he had informed "the group's Western allies more than a couple of times" that "they would like to surrender and stop fighting," but the allies objected saying, "Nothing of this sort will happen, you'll go on fighting, and we will continue to provide you support."

While it could not be confirmed if PKK official Murat Karayilan actually had actually made such remarks on any media, Karayilan said in a recent interview on Sterk TV that a guerilla war against Turkish forces is being conducted in Iraqi Kurdistan "in active combat," and that "Turkey conceals its losses."

Karayilan also called on Iraqi Kurdistan's ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to stop assisting Turkish troops in clashes with PKK fighters, stressing that an intra-Kurdish war should be avoided.