FILE PHOTO: Turkish soldiers seen at the border town of Akcakale © Reuters / Murad Sezer
A new Turkish ground operation in Syria is “possible any time”, Ibrahim Kalin, foreign policy adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on January 14.
The remarks came amid ongoing efforts by Russia to restore ties between Ankara, whose forces and proxies occupy vast parts of northern Syria, and Damascus. The efforts gained momentum in December after a breakthrough meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries in Moscow.
Speaking to reporters, Kalin stressed that the Russian push for a rapprochement with Syria did not mean Turkey was abandoning the option of launching a new ground operation in the war-torn country.
“A ground operation is possible any time, depending on the level of threats we receive,” Erdogan’s top aide said. “Turkey never targets the Syrian state or Syrian civilians.”
Just two days earlier, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said during a meeting with Russian presidential envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev in the Damascus that future talks with Ankara should aim for “the end of occupation” by Turkey of parts of Syria.
Kalin’s remarks were not likely a direct response to Assad, but rather a threat to Turkey’s main foe in Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Ankara blamed the group for an attack that targeted one of its bases in northern Syria day earlier, killing a soldier and wounding several others.
The issue of the SDF remains one of Turkey main priorities in the talks with Syria. Ankara hopes that a rapprochement with Damascus could facilitate joint security and military measures to end the group’s presence in northern Syria.
The Turkish-Syrian rapprochement process appears to be on halt, at least for now. The date and location of an important meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries is yet to be determined. The meeting could help set up a presidential summit between Erdogan and Assad before the end of the year.
- Satellite Images Show Iranian Combat Drones At Eastern Syria Airport
- Three Syrian Soldiers Killed On Greater Idlib Front In Yet Another Attack By HTS (Photos)
