Turkey says it never used banned weapons in Syria during Operation Peace Spring


(MENAFN- Nam News Network)
Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar. Photo courtesy of Anadolu Agency.

MOSCOW (NNN-SPUTNIK) - Turkey has never used banned weapons during Operation Peace Spring against Kurdish militia and the Daesh terrorist group in northern Syria, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.


"Turkey didn't use and will not use any ammunition or chemical weapons prohibited by international law and agreements", Akar told the parliament, as quoted by Turkey's state-owned Anadolu news agency.

The statement comes after a representative of the Syrian Democratic Council, which is the political wing of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in October said in an address to the US Congress that Turkey had used phosphorus during its offensive.

Ankara launched its offensive in northeastern Syria on 9 October to create a safe zone free of the Kurdish militants that it viewed as terrorists. In the first days, it took control of the border towns of Tal Abiad and Ras al-Ain.

Just over a week later, the United States and Turkey agreed to a 120-hour ceasefire in the area to allow the withdrawal of the Kurdish fighters.

As the ceasefire came to an end, Turkey and Russia signed a 22 October memorandum in Sochi stipulating that, within 150 hours, the Kurdish forces would be withdrawn to a distance of 30 kilometres from Syria's border with Turkey to the west and east of the operation zone.

On Nov 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergeyi Lavrov said that the Kurdish forces' withdrawal from Syria's north had been nearly completed, and only some minor presence was still possible. The minister also stressed that the resumption of Turkey's offensive against the Kurdish militants was out of the question.

-NNN-SPUTNIK


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