The Russian side has not approved of Turkey's plans to conduct a military operation in a region in northern Syria. This statement was made on Wednesday by the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.
Hürriyet reports that the issue is the area around the town of Ayn Issa in the province of Raqqa. Hürriyet reports that this region is crossed by the strategic M4 highway that connects the areas of Al-Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. In view of this, the Russian Federation had a negative attitude towards the prospect of an operation there. The newspaper notes that Ankara has suspended preparations for an operation in the region following its contacts with Moscow over this issue and Russia has allegedly ensured the sending of additional forces there.
Hürriyet notes that the Turkish Armed Forces' cross-border operation in Syria may start this week. Turkey continues to mobilise its army units towards the border with Syria and into the Tall Rifat and Manbij regions where there have been more skirmishes and clashes with extremists. Based on the experience of previous operations, military action could presumably begin by the weekend.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 23 announced preparations for an army operation in the Manbij and Tell Rifat areas in northern Syria to expand the 30-kilometer security zone created in 2019. On June 4, he announced that the Turkish army is starting to clear the region of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Self-Defense Forces, which Ankara considers terrorist organizations. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Tuesday that the Turkish army's operation in northern Syria will be launched at the right time and place and may not be limited to the Tall Rifat and Manbij areas.
The aim of the operation is to expand the security zone, clear it from the PKK and the SDF, as well as to accommodate up to 500,000 Syrian refugees in these territories. In May, Erdoğan said the authorities had prepared a project to resettle one million refugees in Syria, but did not provide details at the time.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: ErikaWittlieb\Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS