ANKARA (Xinhua): A planned Turkish military offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Syria is not dependent on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. In an interview with private broadcaster NTV, Cavusoglu said Turkey would conduct the planned military operation to thwart the threat in northern Syria, even if the U.S. delays the withdrawal.
Turkey had announced its intention to enter the east of Euphrates before Trump revealed his plan about withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, therefore Turkey’s offensive is not tied to the U.S. pullout, Cavusoglu said.
The minister’s comments came after Ankara on Tuesday rejected U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton’s demands for protecting the Syrian Kurdish fighters following the U.S. withdrawal.
In a parliamentary speech on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s determination to eliminate the “terror corridor” in northern Syria.
Turkey regards the People’s Protection Units (YPG), an ally with the U.S. troops in the fight against the militant group Islamic State in Syria, as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels fighting for autonomy inside Turkey.
In mid-December last year, Erdogan threatened to launch a cross-border operation against Syrian Kurdish militias, but the operation was postponed after Trump declared the plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria.
