Turkey has "no need" to resume its offensive against the Kurdish forces in northern Syria because they have withdrawn from the border areas, said Tuesday evening the Turkish Ministry of Defense. "At this stage, there is no need to conduct a new operation," the ministry said in a statement.
"Security zone"
Turkey launched an offensive on 9 October in northern Syria. Called "Source of Peace", this operation targeted the Syrian Kurdish militia of the People's Protection Units (YPG), considered "terrorist" by Ankara. It sparked an international outcry, with several countries worrying about the fate of civilians but also the many jihadists detained by the Kurds who are likely to flee. Under an agreement ripped off by US Vice President Mike Pence, Ankara agreed on October 17 to suspend its offensive for five days, which expired on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT.
This agreement provides for the establishment of a "security zone" of 32 km wide in Syrian territory. "At the end of the 120-hour period, the United States announced that the withdrawal of YPG from the area is complete," the Turkish ministry said in its statement. According to a Turkish diplomatic source, this Kurdish withdrawal was confirmed on the phone by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Russian and Syrian patrols
Turkey's announcement comes as Russian presidents Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday agreed to control the Turkish-Syrian border. Under the agreement, Russian and Syrian troops will patrol areas of the border strip bordering the area where the Turkish army conducted its offensive.