Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country “has the right to dispose” of areas it has identified outside its borders to protect its security. Earlier, Turkey bombed Kurdish strongholds in several cities in northern Syria. The Kremlin confirmed that it had disagreements with Turkey over Syria.
Turkey’s president said the Turkish armed forces had eliminated 480 members of the Kurdistan Workers Party during the ongoing military operation “Sword of Talon” in Iraq and Syria. The party is listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. He also said that there were “sacrifices” in Turkey.
On the other hand, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it will continue to bomb so-called terrorist strongholds in northern Syria and Iraq. On Sunday, 27th, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stressed that “the only way out for terrorists is to surrender to justice and the judiciary”. He also said that the Turkish armed forces “will continue to hunt and eliminate them everywhere.”
Akar also praised military operations in northern Iraq and stressed Turkey’s unwavering commitment to what it called its “strategy to eliminate sources of terrorism.”
He noted that Turkey respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbours, and said it was working hard to keep its borders and citizens safe.
continuous bombing
At the same time, the ANHA news agency, which is closely related to the PKK, stated that the Turkish army continued to use warplanes, drones and heavy weapons to launch violent bombings against various areas in northeastern Syria.
The agency said the bombing targets included the Menagh airport in rural Aleppo, the village of Ayn Daqnah in the al-Shahba area and Mara in Afrin. Naz (Maraanaz) village.
On the other hand, the media center controlled by the Kurdish YPG and known as the Syrian Democratic Forces said that the Turkish army has more than 400 mortars and tanks and has carried out attacks on the Euphrates, Ain al-Arab (Kobani) and Tel Ai. Tell Abyad launched missile, mortar and tank attacks. Meanwhile, the Kurdish faction also spoke of the bombed areas of Raqqa and Hasakah.
Russian-Turkish differences
On the political front, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed differences with Turkey over Syria.
In an interview with the “Moscow Kremlin Putin” program, Peskov said the level of relations between the two countries and what he called political wisdom would allow both sides to resolve all these differences through dialogue.
He also said that “this level of understanding and mutual respect is a good basis for discussing such difficult problems” and that differences can be resolved through intensive and long-term dialogue.
Since last week, Turkey has launched a series of airstrikes and artillery strikes on northeastern Syria and Kurdish armed positions.