Cross-border operation in Syria not an overnight matter, PM Yıldırım says

Cross-border operation in Syria not an overnight matter, PM Yıldırım says
Date: 25.8.2017 14:30

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım dismissed claims about Turkey preparing to extend Operation Euphrates Shield to Syria's Afrin and Idlib soon, saying that such cross-border offensive cannot taken place without proper planning, international consultation and more.

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Speaking to reporters on his way back from an official trip to Singapore and Vietnam, Yıldırım said that Turkey will not initiate a cross-border operation out of nowhere.
 
"There needs to be international consultations, a legal ground and a legitimate reason to carry out a cross-border operation" Yıldırım said, adding that Turkey is currently cooperating with Russia and Iran.
 
He also touched upon the possibility of confrontation with Turkey's NATO ally U.S. troops, saying that there are no reasons why such an encounter would happen, unless the U.S. fails to fulfill its pledges regarding the PKK-linked Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing People's Protection Units (YPG).
 
"We will not confine ourselves to what has been said [by the U.S.]. We have taken all types of precautions" the prime minister added, regarding the U.S.'s pledge to withdraw arms given to the PYD/YPG after Raqqa operation.
 
Recent Turkish media reports have claimed that Russia was withdrawing its troops from Afrin, paving the way for a possible Turkish operation.
 
Turkey has consistently opposed the creation of a "terrorist state" along its borders in northern Syria, and has warned the PYD/YPG to withdraw from its borders. 
 

YEREL HABERLER

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