Turkey conducts the military operation "Spring of Peace" in Syria according to the agreement between Ankara and Damascus in 1998 in the city of Adana. This was stated by Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview with Yeni Safak.
These agreements imply that if the Arab Republic does not fight against the Kurdistan Workers Party, which is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, then Ankara has the right to use its military in Syrian territory, Erdogan recalled. In addition, he emphasized that the airspace over the ATS "does not belong to the United States."
“This is international space, this is Syrian airspace. Since it does not belong to the United States, the question of its use is also decided by the regime (Syrian President Bashar Assad. - RT ). They (the US military. - RT ) are not there at the invitation of the regime. And we are within the framework of the agreement in Adan, ”TASS quoted Erdogan as saying.
Recall that the operation "Spring of the World", conducted by the Turkish military in northern Syria, began on Wednesday, October 9. Including its ground part started.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, while on a visit to Algeria, said that Ankara had notified Damascus about the operation. According to the minister, the task of the “Spring of Peace” is to cleanse the region of terrorists so that then Syrian refugees can return there.
And the country's vice president, Fuat Oktay, emphasized that Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Syria and "the sole purpose of the operation is to destroy the zone controlled by terrorists near the southern borders of Turkey and ensure the voluntary return of Syrians to their homes."
However, in Damascus they opposed the operation. Even before it began, when Turkey was building up forces on the border of the Arab Republic, the Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it called what was happening a violation of the UN Charter.
“Damascus considers Ankara’s belligerent behavior and the concentration of Turkish troops on the border as a blatant violation of international norms and the UN Charter, which require respect for the sovereignty of Syria and its territorial unity,” SANA quoted the statement.
The SAR Foreign Ministry emphasized that the Turkish side does not comply with the agreements reached in Adana.
In turn, the Syrian Kurds said they would resist the Turkish troops. The units of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which include Kurdish formations, took up positions on the border with Turkey a few days before the operation began, Rizan Dzhelo, adviser to the SDS General Command for Civil Affairs, told RIA Novosti.
“The SDS forces are deployed in the border area for several days according to the effective plans developed earlier. The retreat is not being conducted in any of the regions, and this will not happen. Our resistance on all fronts will be fierce, ”he said.
- © Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
“Continue east of the Euphrates River”
Meanwhile, Turkey continues to advance deep into Syria. The country's Defense Ministry reported that the troops took control of those facilities that were planned.
"Operation" Spring of the World "successfully continued during the night and was carried out both from air and on land. The designated targets were captured. The operation continues successfully in accordance with the plans, ”the report said.
Earlier, the country's defense department spoke about the advance of troops deep into Syrian territory.
“Our heroic military, participating in Operation Spring of Peace, continues to advance east of the Euphrates River,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Twitter.
Barış Pınarı Harekâtına katılan Kahraman Komandolarımız, Fırat'ın Doğusunda ilerlemeye devam ediyor.
🇹🇷 # MSB # TSK # BarışPınarıHarekatı🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/9de2a9fWQW
The Kurds report that in some areas the Turkish offensive was repelled. Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the SDS, said in a conversation with Reuters that the attack on the border city of Tell Abyad was stopped.
“A ground attack by Turkish forces was repelled by SDF fighters in Tell Abyad. At the moment there is no offensive, ”the agency quoted him as saying.
However, after some time, Turkish troops entered Tell Abyad, the Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported. It is also reported that several settlements near the city were cleared of militants. According to the publication, the military took control of an important transport hub.
The publication said that five militants were killed during the advance of the Turkish army.
SANA reports that at least eight civilians died and another 20 were injured. The agency claims that Turkish artillery also hits residential areas.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense emphasizes that strikes are being carried out on the objects of terrorist organizations.
“As part of Operation Spring of Peace, east of the Euphrates, the Air Force and other military equipment attacked 181 targets of terrorist organizations,” the communique issued a few hours after the operation began.
“Do no harm to the common effort”
Recall that Turkey, together with Russia and Iran, is participating in the so-called Astana format for resolving the conflict in Syria. Before the operation began, it became known that Erdogan had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian leader called on Ankara to act in accordance with the conflict resolution policy and not harm this process.
“In light of the plans announced by Turkey to conduct a military operation in northeastern Syria, Vladimir Putin called on the Turkish partners to carefully weigh the situation so as not to harm the overall efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis,” the Kremlin’s press service said in a statement.
At the same time, during the conversation, “the importance of ensuring the unity and territorial integrity of Syria, respect for its sovereignty” was noted.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on Turkey to choose other ways to achieve its goals.
“We urge friendly and fraternal Turkey and its government to exercise more care and restraint on this issue and to reconsider the approach that has been chosen,” he said.
Turkey was sharply criticized in the USA. Before the operation began, Washington withdrew its military from the region. According to the President of the United States Donald trump, he “tried to stop” Erdogan, but he did not succeed. At the same time, the head of the White House threatened to “destroy” the Turkish economy if Ankara deliberately begins to destroy the Kurds.
“I will ruin his economy if that happens,” Trump said. “I have already told President Erdogan that I will do something much more than sanctions. I would agree with the sanctions, but I’m thinking about what is much tougher than sanctions if he doesn’t do it in the most humane way possible. ”
However, according to Erdogan, with these words, Trump is trying to relieve tension in “certain circles”.
“I consider these words as statements that are made in order to prevent tension in certain circles. At the moment, the fact that troops are being withdrawn demonstrates true intentions. They told us that they would not oppose Turkey, ”the Turkish president said.
- © Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Presidential Press Office / Handout via REUTERS
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab expressed “serious concerns” and noted that Ankara’s military actions pose risks of worsening the situation in the country. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian condemned the operation and called for it to be stopped, as it “runs the risk of undermining the security of Europeans” and casts doubt on the coalition’s struggle against the “Islamic State” *. A similar statement was made by the Foreign Minister of Germany, Heiko Maas.
“Strongly condemn the Turkish offensive in northeast Syria. Turkey runs the risk of destabilizing the region and reinforcing IS positions. We urge Turkey to stop the offensive and secure its security interests in a peaceful way, ”the German Foreign Ministry quoted him as saying.
Moreover, the Secretary of State under the Minister for European and Foreign Affairs of France, Amelie de Monschalen, said that London, Paris and Berlin intend to issue a joint statement condemning the Turkish operation. These same countries plan to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council.
“France, Germany and the UK are completing a joint statement that will make it very clear that we strongly condemn the actions that are reported,” the Secretary of State quoted Reuters.