Erdogan explained the operation in Syria as a failure to comply with Russia’s agreements
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Turkey conducted an air operation in Syria and Iraq due to the refusal of the Russian side to fulfill promises to withdraw Kurdish formations from the border of the republic, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Erdogan recalled the Sochi agreement concluded in 2019 between Turkey and Russia, on joint actions to resolve the situation in the northeast of the Arab Republic.
“On them [России] was responsible for clearing the area of terrorists. Unfortunately, despite the fact that we reminded them many times of this, they did not. We said that we would not be silent against this, and that we would take steps against the terrorists there if they were unable to do so.” quotes Erdogan’s Daily Sabah newspaper.
The Turkish leader also said that almost 70 aircraft, including drones, took part in the operation, adding that a total of 89 terrorist sites were destroyed, including shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels and ammunition depots.
In 2019 Russia and Turkey agreed on the withdrawal of Kurdish formations from the border areas, as well as joint patrols in this zone. The areas adjacent to the zone inhabited by Kurds de jure came under the control of the Moscow-allied Syrian government in Damascus, in a number of important points for the first time since 2012, units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) appeared, but in fact control over the situation has since been carried out by the military police of Russia.
Turkey has carried out three military operations in the northern regions of Syria since 2017 – the Euphrates Shield, the Olive Branch and the Spring of Peace. As a result, a buffer security zone was created between the cities of Aazaz and Jerablus north of Aleppo, Afrin was occupied, and border areas east of the Euphrates River were taken under control. In a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 30, Erdogan also stated the need to ensure security in northern Syria, from where attacks on the republic by the PKK and the People’s Self-Defense Forces continue.
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