Turkish President said that his country is set to launch a military strike against the Syrian Kurds in the north of the neighboring country .
On Sunday, May 29, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara would soon launch a new military offensive in northern Syria to ensure security on the southern borders of its state.
According to the AP agency, he made such a statement to journalists upon his return from a working visit to Azerbaijan.
“We cannot fight terrorism while we are waiting for someone's permission,” the agency quotes Erdogan as saying.
The President added that Turkey will not wait for the assistance of the United States. “We have enough of our own forces,” he said.
As you know, Turkey wants to create a 30-kilometer “safety zone” along the Syrian border to protect itself from attacks by Kurdish militants. Since 2016, the Turkish army has carried out three large-scale incursions in northern Syria, taking control of large areas along the Syrian border.
The US State Department has warned that the next such operation threatens the local civilian population, as well as American soldiers fighting extremists Islamic State.
The dispute between Washington and Ankara arose at a time when Turkey opposed the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO. Ankara justifies its opposition by arguing that both countries support the banned Kurdish Workers Party (KRP) and other similar groups in Turkey. However, Helsinki and Stockholm deny this.
Recall that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to talk with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on May 30.
