Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that there are some issues that Turkey has understood with the Russian and Iranian parties regarding the Turkish military operation in northern Syria, stressing that his country "never asks permission" from anyone.
In a press statement, Cavusoglu expressed his country's opposition to the Russian and Iranian views regarding support for the Syrian regime, stressing the two sides' realization that there is no difference between the Democratic Union Party and the People's Protection Units and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Ankara classifies as a terrorist.
The Turkish minister said that both countries oppose Turkey's military operation in northern Syria, but the most important thing is what Turkey is doing in Syria, adding that his country "never asks permission" from anyone before launching a military operation in Syria.
He explained in this context, "We can exchange ideas, but we have never and will never ask permission for our military operations against terrorism," warning that "it could happen overnight, unexpectedly."
Erdogan's statements
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the file of the military operation in northern Syria will remain on Turkey's agenda until its national security concerns are dispelled.
The Turkish president called on the US forces to withdraw from the areas east of the Euphrates River in Syria, because they feed the terrorist organizations there, and their withdrawal will make the process of combating terrorism easier, as he put it.
He said that the terrorist organization of the Kurdistan Workers' Party believes in vain that it can deceive the Turkish army by raising the regime's flag in northern Syria, he said.
During a tripartite summit with Iran and Russia on Tuesday in Tehran, Erdogan - who has been threatening to launch a Turkish military operation in Syria since last May - said that he is counting on "the support of Russia and Iran in the fight against terrorism."
However, his Russian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Iranian Ibrahim Raisi, warned that any operation in northeastern Syria would harm various parties in the region.
The Iranian and American position
In contrast to the Turkish position, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian expressed his concern over the possibility of Turkish military operations in northern Syria.
He also demanded - during a press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Miqdad - the American forces to leave the Syrian territories immediately and without conditions, as he put it.
For his part, US State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed his country's desire to continue working with Turkey to eliminate the Islamic State in Syria.
He said that Kurdish fighters are an important part of the coalition against ISIS, and have contributed to the gains on the ground.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched 3 military operations in Syria on its southern borders, targeting Kurdish organizations that it considers threatening its territory, and launched an attack in early 2020 against the Syrian regime forces.