Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar asked the US today to show understanding for a possible new Turkish military operation in Syria, after Washington expressed its "strong opposition" to such a move.
Turkey has been threatening a new invasion of northern Syria for months and stepped up preparations last month after a deadly bombing in Istanbul that it blamed on Kurdish militants.
"The US asked us to reassess. We conveyed our sensitivities and thoughts to them and asked them to keep their promises. We stressed that they should understand us," Akar told reporters.
Ankara also asked its allied countries that have a military presence in Syria not to allow local militias to use their flags and uniforms, the Turkish defense minister added. "We remind them that they should keep terrorists away and ultimately cut their ties with terrorist organizations," he said."
Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG militia, which has a leading presence in the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as the Syrian wing of the PKK armed group and labels both organizations (YPG, PKK) as terrorist.
The PKK is also considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union.
The PKK and the SDF have denied involvement in the November 13 bombing of a busy pedestrian street in Istanbul.
Yesterday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made it known that he expressed to his Turkish counterpart Akar his "strong opposition" to a new Turkish large-scale ground operation in Syria, expressing concern over the recent escalation of violence in the border region, according to a US Pentagon statement.
Source
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
