Turkey is ready for an operation east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday, to clear the region of terrorists.
“WE COMPLETED OUR PREPARATIONS”
Addressing the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s 29th Consultation and Assessment meeting in Kizilcahaman, a retreat town of capital Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey aims to establish peace east of the Euphrates River by purging the Syrian region from terrorists.
“We have completed our preparations and action plan, the necessary instructions were given. It is maybe today or tomorrow the time to clear the way for [our] peace efforts which is set and the process for them was started. We will carry out a ground and air operation,” Erdoğan said. “Our aim is, I underline it, to shower east of Euphrates with peace,” he added.
Turkey rid an area of 4,000 square kilometers (1,544 square miles) in Syria of terrorist groups in two separate cross-border operations, Erdogan said.
Since 2016, Turkey has conducted two major military operations in northwestern Syria — Operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch — to purge the region of terrorist groups Daesh and the YPG, which is the Syrian branch of the terrorist organization PKK.