It appears as a response to the criticisms directed by regional and international powers of the military operation in northern Syria and Iraq, as the Turkish president affirmed that his country has a legitimate right in the areas it has designated outside its borders in order to protect its security.
Erdogan also stressed that no one can prevent Ankara from using this right, and that his country's forces were able to neutralize about 480 of what he described as terrorists in the ongoing military operation in Iraq and Syria.
To whom are Turkey's messages?
Regarding the foreign parties targeted by Ankara with its messages, Dr. Murat Yesiltas, Director of Foreign Policy at the SITA Institute, explained in his interview with the "Beyond the News" program that America supports the People's Protection Units in Syria, although it is an organization affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which America has included in the terrorist list.
Therefore, Turkey says that America, Russia and the rest of the external parties cannot confront Ankara in the event that it takes comprehensive military measures, just as Iran has always stood against the Turkish military presence in Syria, which does not support the Turkish military operation, just as the Syrian regime stands against this Turkish step.
On the level of Washington, America cannot resort to any military intervention to prevent Ankara from entering areas in northern Syria, wondering if Turkey will take its step even though this will strain its relations with America and other external parties, according to the former director of the Syria Department in the US National Security Council, Dr. Andrew Tabler.
Also, the American position depends on the size of the operation, the depth, and the geographical scope it reaches, and therefore it is not likely that Turkey will control parts of Syria that will cause it to enter into major problems. Protecting the people in Syria.
Constant bombing
It is noteworthy that Erdogan's statements were preceded by the confirmation of the Turkish Ministry of Defense to continue bombing sites it designated as terrorists in northern Syria and Iraq.
The ministry also announced the death of a Turkish soldier, who succumbed to being shot by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the ongoing military operation in northern Iraq, and the ministry published on its Twitter account scenes of the artillery shelling that targeted those sites.
The Turkish operation included throwing flash bombs at the positions of those forces in the countryside of Ain al-Arab (Kobani), on the border with Turkey, and then targeted them with shelling.
For its part, pro-Kurdish media outlets said that the Turkish bombardment targeted joint points of what are known as the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian regime forces in the village of Garkli in the countryside of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), which resulted in the injury of a member of the regime forces.
These developments coincided with the meeting of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar with army leaders in the city of "Hakkari" on his country's borders with Iraq. Ground forces in the capital, Ankara.