President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the Operation Olive Branch and the latest developments in Syria with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron in two separate phone calls, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
During his phone call with Macron, Erdoğan underlined that Turkey's counter-terror operation in northwestern Syria's Afrin region is being carried out within the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, U.N. Security Council resolutions, its right to self-defense under the U.N. charter and respect for Syria's territorial integrity.
The president also added that the Turkish military puts utmost importance on not harming civilians, taking all necessary measures.
The two leaders agreed to stay in close contact regarding the settlement of the ongoing Syrian crisis.
A few hours later, Erdoğan held another call with Putin, in which the two leaders voiced their determination for the upcoming Syrian National Congress in Sochi to open new chapters for a political solution in Syria.
Operation Olive Branch was launched Saturday, targeting the PKK terror group's Syrian affiliates the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing the People's Protection Units (YPG), as well as the remaining Daesh elements in Afrin region on the Turkish-Syrian border.
According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as protect Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.
The operation in Afrin – bordering Turkey's Hatay and Kilis provinces – was widely expected in the wake of Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria, which cleared Daesh terrorists from Turkey's border between Aug. 24, 2016, and March 2017.
Afrin has been a major hideout for the YPG/PKK since July 2012 when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.
