Launching a ground military operation in Syria is “possible at any time depending on the perceived threat level,” the senior Turkish official said on Saturday.
Turkey would continue to support the political process which agreed upon in December 2022 at the meeting between the defence ministers of Russia, Turkey and Syria in Moscow, said Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman and foreign policy adviser for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On Nov. 20th, 2022, the Turkish forces launched a wide-scale ground and air bombardment against areas of North and East Syria, targeting infrastructure, civilians, and military personnel. They are still threatening to go ahead with the operation.
Kalin added, “We want security at our borders,” in reference to the presence of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria.
Kalin noted the possibility of holding a new meeting between the defence ministers of Turkey and Syria before the scheduled meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries in mid-February.
While on Saturday and during a meeting with the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Damascus, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that Syria would not go forward in dialogue with Turkey unless the latter ended its “occupation and support for terrorist organizations.”
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.