Turkey is determined to go ahead with its planned military incursion against Kurdish militias in northern Syria despite opposition from other countries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday, as quoted by DPA and Agerpres.

“I once again declare to the world that our struggle will not end until we secure the southern borders with a 30-kilometer-wide corridor,” Erdogan told supporters in the southeastern Turkish city of Bitlis.

Turkey has already occupied territories in northern Syria, along the border between the two countries. In April, Turkey’s head of state warned of a new offensive to push the US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) south.

Ankara considers the YPG “terrorists” and a threat to national security.

Russia and Iran, which back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government against Turkish-backed rebels, warned Ankara of invading Syrian territory after the Kurds appealed to Moscow and Tehran in mid-July to prevent another Turkish attack.

The United States also warned against a new offensive by Turkey

Separately, Washington warned that Turkey’s new offensive could divert attention from the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group.

“We are aware of the hypocrisy of those who launch operations whenever they want and point the finger at us,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, without naming any country.

“We will continue these operations in accordance with our plans and based on our country’s security priorities. As we always say, we can come out of nowhere at once,” he added.

Earlier in August, 17 people were killed as a result of airstrikes by Turkish troops in northern Syria.