Turkey's National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the republic has no intention of stopping the anti-terrorist operations in Iraq and Syria.
"We are now targeting terrorists in Northern Iraq and Syria. There is no escape for them. They have two options: die or surrender. There is no choice but justice," Sözcü quoted the minister as saying on Thursday. According to him, the terrorist organizations "are begging their masters to help stop the operations of the Turkish Armed Forces."
"The operations in Iraq and Syria will not stop. They will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized," Akar stressed.
Earlier this year, the Turkish authorities announced that they might launch a new cross-border operation in northern Syria. The main purpose of the operation was to neutralize fighting groups of armed Kurdish groups, recognized as terrorist in Ankara. A large-scale operation has not yet been launched.
In addition, Damascus is demanding the withdrawal of the Turkish Armed Forces from the north of the country as part of the process of preparing a plan to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria. However, Ankara does not accept such preconditions, stating the need for its soldiers in Syria to maintain security, including for implementing the plan for the refugee return.
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Based on materials from TASS