Defense Ministry: Turkey, US to soon launch coordination center for creation of security zone in Syria


(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:

Turkey and the US will very soon launch a coordination center for the creation of a security zone in Syria, said the Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar,Trendreports referring to Turkish media.

According to Akar, the US knows that Turkey will not allow 'the creation of any formations' at its borders.

He noted that Turkey insists on the depth of the security zone in northern Syria to be 30-40 kilometers.

Akar stressed that the US should seize weapons from PYD / YPG terrorists.

"If the US does not fulfill its obligations to Ankara, then Turkey will do everything possible for the creation of a security zone in Syria without the US," he said.

Turkey and the US came to an agreement on the creation of a security zone in northern Syria on August 7. On June 4, 2018, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed a roadmap on Syria's Manbij during talks in Washington. Earlier, Cavusoglu and Pompeo had a meeting in Brussels and discussed the Operation Olive Branch, as well as other issues.

On January 20, 2018, Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria. On August 24, 2016, units of the Turkish Armed Forces launched the Euphrates Shield Operation against the "Islamic State", and liberated, with the support of the Syrian opposition, Al-Bab town and the border town of Jarabulus in northern Syria.

The safety zone in the north of Syria includes a territory 32 kilometers deep and 460 kilometers long along the Syrian border with Turkey. In the case of the creation of this zone, it will be divided into two parts, the first part will start from the Iraqi-Syrian border and will be extended to the Syrian city of Qamishli, because the Syrian government forces control this city.

The second part of the safety zone will start from Qamishli and will be extended to Jarabulus city, which was liberated from the terrorists of the 'Islamic State' (IS) as part of the Operation Euphrates Shield conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in 2016.

The city of Manbij, where Turkey had previously intended to conduct anti-terrorist operations, is not a part of the safety zone.

---

Follow the author on Twitter:@rhafizoglu

Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important news


MENAFN1208201901870000ID1098873818


Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.