Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country has the "right to dispose" of the areas it has designated outside its borders in order to protect its security, in the wake of Turkish bombing targeting Kurdish sites in several cities in northern Syria, while the Kremlin confirmed the existence of differences with Turkey over Syria.
The Turkish president stated that his country's armed forces managed to eliminate 480 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara classifies as a terrorist organization, in the ongoing military operation in Iraq and Syria under the name "Claw Sword," and he also said that Turkey has "Martyrs".
For its part, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it would continue to bomb sites of what it described as terrorists in northern Syria and Iraq, and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed, on Sunday, that "the only way out for the terrorists is to surrender to justice and the judiciary," adding that the Turkish armed forces "will continue to chase and neutralize them everywhere." .
Akar praised the military operations in northern Iraq, stressing that Turkey will firmly and resolutely continue its "strategy of drying up the sources of terrorism," as it says.
He stated that Turkey respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries, indicating that it is striving to preserve the security and safety of its borders and citizens.
Constant bombing
Meanwhile, the "Hawar" agency, which is close to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), said that the Turkish army continues its violent bombardment with warplanes, drones and heavy weapons on various regions of northeastern Syria.
The agency stated that the bombing targeted the Menagh airport in the Aleppo countryside, the village of Ain Daqna in the al-Shahba region, and the village of Maraanaz in Afrin.
For its part, the media center of what is known as the Syrian Democratic Forces - which is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units - stated that the Turkish forces launched strikes with missiles, mortars and tanks on the Euphrates, Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) and Tal Abyad with more than 400 mortars and tanks, and Kurdish factions also reported shelling Areas in Raqqa and Al-Hasakah as well.
Russian-Turkish dispute
On the political front, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the existence of differences with Turkey over Syria.
Peskov said in an interview with the "Moscow, the Kremlin, Putin" program that the level of relations between the two countries and what he called political wisdom allow resolving all these differences through talks.
He added that resolving differences is possible through intensive, albeit long, talks, considering that "this level of understanding and mutual respect is really a good basis for discussing such difficult issues."
Since last week, Turkey has launched a series of air raids and artillery strikes on northeastern Syria and on Kurdish fighters' positions.