Ankara warns of the possibility of a Turkish ground operation in Syria "at any time"

An advisor close to the Turkish presidency, Ibrahim Kalin, confirmed on Saturday that launching a ground military operation in Syria is "possible at any time."

"We continue to support the political process," which began at the end of December with the meeting of the Turkish and Syrian defense ministers in Moscow, Ibrahim told reporters from several foreign media outlets, including Agence France-Presse.

"However, launching a ground operation remains possible at any time, based on the level of threats received," he added.

He talked about the possibility of a new meeting between the defense ministers of Turkey and Syria, prior to the upcoming meeting in mid-February between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

"We want security on our borders," he added, referring to the presence of Kurdish forces on Syrian territory.

He also said, "We never target the interests of the Syrian state, nor Syrian civilians."

However, he pointed out that the security guarantees promised by Russia and the United States after the last Turkish operation in Syria in 2019 "were not adhered to" and that the Kurdish fighters did not withdraw within 30 kilometers from the border as was promised.

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