Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says France’s presence in Syria to protect the YPG would help neither France nor the YPG. Cavusoglu stressed that Turkey has the power to single-handedly neutralize the ISIL terrorist group (Daesh) in Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signaled that a cross-border operation against the terrorist PYD/YPG in Syria […]
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says France’s presence in Syria to protect the YPG would help neither France nor the YPG.
Cavusoglu stressed that Turkey has the power to single-handedly neutralize the ISIL terrorist group (Daesh) in Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signaled that a cross-border operation against the terrorist PYD/YPG in Syria will happen soon. Since 2016, Ankara has carried out two military operations in northern Syria.
The Turkish official also made clear that the process of withdrawing US troops from Syria should not serve the terror group PYD/YPG.
Cavusoglu said, “we’ve clearly conveyed that the process should not serve the separatist agenda of the PYD/YPG.”
On November 1, Turkish and US troops began joint patrols in Syria’s northwestern Manbij as part of an agreement that focuses on the withdrawal of PKK/YPG armed groups from the city to stabilize the region.
US sanctions on Iran
On the US sanctions on Iran and its decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal, Cavusoglu said he hoped US President Donald Trump would reverse these decisions.
Voicing his hopes that problems are resolved through dialogue, Cavusoglu said, “Turkey will do its part in this.”
In August, the US re-imposed the first round of sanctions that mainly targeted Iran’s banking sector.
The second phase of sanctions — targeting Iran’s energy sector — came into effect on Nov. 5, although Washington granted waiver to the eight largest buyers of Iranian oil, including Turkey.
