Turkey spoke air operation in Syria and Iraq because of Russia’s “refusal” to fulfill its promises and withdraw Kurdish formations from the borders of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish journalists on his plane after returning from Qatar.
“The operation in Syria will not be limited to airstrikes. The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff will jointly decide the number of ground troops involved,” the Turkish President stressed.
We consult and then take appropriate action. We have already established diplomatic relations with the countries that are present here, and we have taken and are taking appropriate steps.
“Despite our repeated warnings to Russia, which is responsible for clearing terrorists from northern Iraq and Syria in accordance with our 2019 Sochi agreement, Moscow has not fulfilled and refuses to fulfill its duty,” Erdogan said.
“As Turkey, we have stated that we will not be silent against terrorism and that we will take action if they do not. Thus, we hit and eliminated 12 terrorist nests in Kobani,” he added.
“Turkey cannot be stopped, this anti-terrorist operation, both from the air and from the ground, will continue,” the Turkish newspaper Sabah quoted the Turkish president as saying on Monday.
According to the NTV television company, Erdogan also said that he does not discuss Turkish operations in Iraq and Syria.
“We have not discussed the issue of conducting the operation either with the respected US President Mr. Biden, or with the respected Mr. Putin. Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin know that we are capable of carrying out such operations, as we say, at any time,” Erdogan told reporters.
Erdogan does not rule out ground operations in Iraq, Syria
At the same time, the Turkish president did not rule out a ground operation against Kurdish positions in northern Iraq and northern Syria.
“We will not limit ourselves to air operations. We will decide whether ground forces will participate and how much. Internal negotiations are underway, and we are taking appropriate steps,” he said.
Source: NTV, TASS, Reuters
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