Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday said that “there is no problem” if the Syrian regime enters Afrin in order to cleanse it of People’s Protection Units (YPG), but warned that Turkish troops cannot be stopped if President Bashar al-Assad’s intention is to protect the Kurds.
He added: “Will the Syrian forces enter to cleanse Afrin of terrorists? Or to fight the Turkish army? If the Syrian forces enter into Afrin and stand alongside the YPG terrorist militia, we will work to eliminate it.”
Regime media, including the official SANA agency, said that militias under the Assad regime’s authority would enter into the Afrin area in the country’s northwest in the coming hours.
Media adviser to the YPG in Afrin Ziran Hadou told the Kurdish Rudaw agency on Saturday that “talks between the [Kurdish] Self-Administration and Damascus around Afrin are ongoing, and we will announce their results in the event an agreement is reached.”
Regarding the options available in these talks, and the YPG position, Hadou said: “We accept all options except Turkish occupation.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
