Türkiye is issuing the necessary warnings to allied countries to keep terrorists away from their areas and cut off all ties with terrorist groups as soon as possible, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Thursday.
“Türkiye warns allied countries not to support the PKK/YPG terrorist group for any reason, including in pretext of fighting Daesh," Akar told reporters in the capital Ankara.
Regarding U.S. statements on Türkiye's possible Syria ground operation, Akar said: “We explained our sensitivities. We want promises to be kept.”
Akar said further that allied countries should not let terrorists wear and use their countries’ flags and uniforms.
Cooperating against terrorism will contribute to regional peace, Akar told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a phone call Wednesday as Ankara prepares to launch a new operation into northern Syria.
Referring to Türkiye's cross-border operations in northern Iraq and Syria, Akar said the counterterrorism operations are being carried out in line with the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter to ensure the security of the Turkish nation and its borders.
He also emphasized that the only target in the operations were terrorists and that Türkiye never targets coalition forces or civilians.
Cooperation and solidarity in the fight against terrorism will contribute to regional and global peace and security, he said, underlining that in this context, Türkiye is ready for cooperation against Daesh and all other terrorist organizations.
However, instead of cooperating mainly with Türkiye on fighting Daesh, the United States has preferred the YPG, the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian wing, as its local partner.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara.
The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Türkiye strongly opposed the YPG terrorist group's presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.' support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Türkiye and terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to YPG terrorists, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Türkiye conducted its own counterterrorism operations, over the course of which it has managed to remove a significant number of terrorists from the region.
"Secretary Austin called for de-escalation, and shared the (Defense) Department's strong opposition to a new Turkish military operation in Syria," the Pentagon said in a statement.
He also offered condolences for those killed in the Istanbul attack, it said.
Austin's call with Akar came a day after the Pentagon's press secretary said a Turkish ground operation into Syria would "severely jeopardize" gains made against Daesh.
Recently, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the PKK terrorist group and its Syrian wing, the YPG, which have illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan attacks on Turkish soil.
The country's air operation followed a PKK/YPG terrorist attack on Nov. 13 on Istanbul's crowded Istiklal Street that killed six people and left 81 injured.
After the air operation was launched, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also signaled a ground operation to northern Iraq and northern Syria to eliminate the terrorist threat, adding, "This is not limited to just an air operation."
The president specified northern Syria's PKK/YPG-controlled Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab (also known as Kobani) regions as possible targets to clear of terrorists.
Tal Rifaat lies 15 kilometres (9 miles) south of the border with Türkiye. The PKK/YPG controls the city and surrounding villages, and Russian troops are present in the area. The Syrian National Army (SNA) control areas surrounding Tal Rifaat from the north, while Russian-backed Syrian troops control zones mostly to the south.
Russian troops deployed in some PKK/YPG-controlled border areas of northern Syria following a 2019 agreement that sought to avert a previous Turkish operation threat.
The Syrian National army is ready for the anticipated ground operation in northern Syria, one of the commanders of the army, Mustafa Sejari said on Thursday.
“It can be said that we have completed the necessary military and field preparations and preparations to start the anticipated military operation,” Sejari told Daily Sabah.
“We are waiting for the appropriate time and zero hour to start advancing and ground control. Our forces in the Syrian National Army are ready to carry out the ground operation alongside the allied forces of the Republic of Türkiye,” he added.
As part of Operation Claw-Sword, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continues to strike terrorist targets in northern Syria and Iraq with air and ground fire support elements.
