FILE PHOTO: Turkish soldiers seen at the border town of Akcakale © Reuters / Murad Sezer
A new Turkish ground operation in Syria is “possible any time”, Ibrahim Kalin, foreign policy adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on January 14.
The remarks came amid ongoing efforts by Russia to restore ties between Ankara, whose forces and proxies occupy vast parts of northern Syria, and Damascus. The efforts gained momentum in December after a breakthrough meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries in Moscow.
Speaking to reporters, Kalin stressed that the Russian push for a rapprochement with Syria did not mean Turkey was abandoning the option of launching a new ground operation in the war-torn country.
“A ground operation is possible any time, depending on the level of threats we receive,” Erdogan’s top aide said. “Turkey never targets the Syrian state or Syrian civilians.”
Just two days earlier, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said during a meeting with Russian presidential envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev in the Damascus that future talks with Ankara should aim for “the end of occupation” by Turkey of parts of Syria.
Kalin’s remarks were not likely a direct response to Assad, but rather a threat to Turkey’s main foe in Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Ankara blamed the group for an attack that targeted one of its bases in northern Syria day earlier, killing a soldier and wounding several others.
The issue of the SDF remains one of Turkey main priorities in the talks with Syria. Ankara hopes that a rapprochement with Damascus could facilitate joint security and military measures to end the group’s presence in northern Syria.
The Turkish-Syrian rapprochement process appears to be on halt, at least for now. The date and location of an important meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries is yet to be determined. The meeting could help set up a presidential summit between Erdogan and Assad before the end of the year.
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More likely, Turkey will look for any excuse to renege on any agreement. They are to be trusted as far as the Kurds.
It means, you let me destroy SDF and I let you destroy HTS.
Yes, and where is the US? They let the Kurds do the dirty work against ISIS and they left the Kurds hung out to dry when Turkey attacked 2 years ago . Ukraine should pay attention to this. The US does not know what an ally is. The US only uses people short term for their own benefit.
You are very correct
If turkiye moves back from north syria and iraq, all terrorist groups (like kurds and radical muslim terrorists isis ,etc) immediately they will returnt back , they will deploy their fighters again. Kurds wants to take land from Turkiye and iran and establish a country which will be called later big Kurdistan at south Turkiye and at west iran . They are America’s proxies. They together stealing the syrian petrol.
the Kurds have 0 chance against Turkey and will be wiped away. The US has let Turkey kill the Kurds en masse 2 years ago. The US does not care as the Kurds have nothing of value.
It depends, because there are Kurdish groups that support either Turkey or Iran or both.
They are called renegade or BETRAYERS. If then leaking OGRES ass they became UNHUMAN GENOCIDALS SLAVES (like MERDazeris)
As a Greek, I am kind of against Turks and Azeris (and Iranians) but here on the PKK file they are right. PKK is Trotskyist terrorist groupie.
Need to replenish my popcorn and Coca Cola stock.
Is entertaining to see the Muslims killing each other, as they have done in the best tradition for hundreds of years.
With modern weapons, the kill figures should increase.
Artificial borders and a man-made fantasy religion is something an illiterate is willing to sacrifice his life for.
christians killing christians. Muslims killing muslims.. christians killing muslims and muslims killing christians. It’s a buddhist-jewish conspiracy
Yes, these Middle Eastern religions that have been forced upon people in the past are the worst plague humanity has been subjected to.
So you are against borders and religion? Do you belong in the cult of the one eye?
Nothing wrong with Buddhists or Jews though.
nothing wrong with either of them indeed
Actually, anyway, the BEASTY PORK never stopped FARTING SILLYNESS AND LIES … Nothing new by that BEAST(S) …
Every month america sends 30 TIR weapon. After 3 month 90 TIR weapons will have kurds