Condemnations from other countries and sanction threats will not force Turkey to stop its counterrorism operation in Syria, Presidential Spokesman
Condemnations from other countries and sanction threats will not force Turkey to stop its counterrorism operation in Syria, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalın said Wednesday.
Kalın said that Turkey’s foreign ministry will retaliate in kind to U.S. sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Ankara over its operation in northeastern Syria.
“Turkey will not leave this unanswered,” he said.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Kalın also said that U.S. officials were clearly told Turkey would not declare a ceasefire in northern Syria and that it will not negotiate with terrorists.
“YPG terrorists are destroying the demographic structure in Syria, not Turkey or Operation Peace Spring. It is about time to end YPG’s dominance for the sake of Syria’s territorial integrity, political unity and sociological balance,” Kalın said.
“While Turkey is hosting around 4 million Syrians, it is taking care of around 3 million others in Syria, equaling to 1/3 of the total population. Is there any other country doing this?” he asked.
Kalın also said that the status of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey will not change.
Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring, the third in a series of cross-border anti-terror operations in northern Syria targeting terrorists affiliated with Daesh and the PKK’s Syrian offshoot the People’s Protection Units (YPG), on October 9.
The operation, conducted in line with the country’s right to self-defense borne out of international law and U.N. Security Council resolutions, aims to establish a terror-free safe zone for Syrians return in the area east of the Euphrates River controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by YPG terrorists.
The PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.