(MENAFN) On Wednesday, Turkey condemned France and the United States for calling for a ceasefire in Syria should apply to its military operation against Kurdish militia, as new tensions heated between Ankara and its NATO allies.
The United Nations Security Council has agreed a 30-day nationwide ceasefire in Syria and Turkey has welcomed the ceasefire but repeatedly insisted any truce will not affect its over month-long offensive in the Afrin region.
French President Emmanuel Macron told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in telephone talks Monday the ceasefire must be applied across the country "including in Afrin," the French presidency said.
"Turkey is more than welcome to go back and read the exact text of this UN Security Council resolution, and I would suggest that they do so," US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
In its part, Turkey said that the talk with Macron did not include Afrin, accusing the French authorities of "misinforming public opinion."
On the other hand, Turkey said that Nauert's comments were "devoid of any basis", claiming that the Afrin campaign was a fight against "terrorists" and a matter of self-defense for Turkey.
In January 2018, Turkey launched an offensive called "Olive Branch" on Syria's Afrin Kurds-majority, on the pretext of protecting its boarders from the People's Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara views as "terrorists."
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