“From now on, we have to demonstrate our presence in the region”, he said.
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Turkey may expand military operation’s scope in Syria and Iraq, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Turkiye newspaper reported on September 7.
Ankara, which sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG as an extension of the Kurdish PKK group fighting an insurgency on Turkish soil, wants the Syrian militia to pull back to the east of the Euphrates, where there is a Kurdish-controlled canton.
Russiabelieves that Turkey’s actions “could further complicate an already challenging military and political situation in Syria and negatively affect global efforts to devise a settlement platform that would ensure a more sustainable ceasefire”. “We said, “Let our soldiers come together, whatever is necessary will be done”, Erdogan said.
He said Turkish and USA military officials could meet to discuss capturing Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State.
He said: “Obama wants to do some things together concerning Raqqa in particular”.
The YPG is affiliated with the PKK, a Turkey-orientated Kurdish group, which has always been designated a terrorist organisation by the Turkish state.
However, there have been signs of a rapprochement, with Kalin saying Putin had told Erdogan he fully supported the Turkish operation.
The offensive continues, and Russian Federation, who is allied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says it is deeply concerned by the movement of Turkish forces deeper into Syrian territory.
The two North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies have reached an uneasy agreement under which YPG fighters are meant to remain east of the Euphrates river, just outside Turkey’s proposed buffer zone, although Ankara has said it has yet to verify that they are doing so.
It would be an acknowledgement by Washington of Turkey’s continuing strategic interest in Syria. For its part, Turkey has been less insistent on Assad’s immediate exit.
The U.S.is still not considering a no-fly zone in northern Syria as it might not help resolve the broader conflict in the war-torn country, President Barack Obama’s national security advisor said Tuesday.
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But NATO member Turkey, an active participant of the anti-IS coalition, considers the YPG a “terrorist” group and has been alarmed by its expansion along the border, fearing the creation of a contiguous, semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Syria.
