Ankara: Turkey will continue military operation in Syria even if it goes against US interests
In an interview published the website of Evropeyskaya Pravda, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claims that Ankara will continue military operations in Syria, even if this goes against the interests of the United States.
“When a member of NATO arms terrorists who attack another member of NATO, this grossly violates the fundamental principles of the Alliance. This type of policy is not normal, and it must be rectified,” said Cavusoglu with regard to the United States’ decision to arm the People’s Protection Units, which, in Ankara’s view, is simply the banned terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers’ Party under a different name.
The Turkish Foreign Minister does not doubt that “the United States is aware of the harm” that this policy causes to confidence in NATO, and will change it.
“The fact that Washington is now placing its trust in the People’s Protection Units is a mistake that is detrimental to [the United States] itself, especially since they already have a reliable partner in the region - Turkey.
“However, the Turkish state cannot afford to wait until the U.S. corrects this erroneous course,” the minister said.
Chavushoglu gave assurances that the Turkish military’s operation “Olive Branch” in the Afrin region “will continue until the terrorists are destroyed.”
Turkish ground forces entered the territory of Syria on January 21 and are moving towards the city of Afrin with the support of units of the Free Syrian Army.
Despite calls for withdrawal from Western allies, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to expand the offensive operations of his troops against Kurdish units in Syria.