Turkey said it would not step back from its military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria.
On Monday night, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the military operation against the People's Protection Units (YPG), a major component of the Kurdish SDF, will take place when the time is right.
Speaking on the possible operation, he said: “Of course, the operation will be carried out when necessary. There will be no going back and we cannot possibly give up on our fight against terrorist organizations.”
Erdogan also called on the US to stop its support to the YPG.
Ankara, however, did not comment on Russian reports on Monday that said the Turkish army intended to kick off the attack this week.
Turkey intends to launch a military operation against the SDF on Tuesday, and it ordered its allied opposition groups to prepare for the operation, a source told the RIA Novosti new agency.
A spokesman for the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army denied the reports, saying they were Russian attempts to pressure the SDF in wake of stumbling negotiations between Moscow and Damascus with the Kurdish force.
Meanwhile, Ankara has been sending military reinforcements to Syria, deploying them in areas stretching from the Idlib province to east of the Euphrates River in the northeast.
In the past two weeks, senior Turkish officials have signaled that a new operation could take place against SDF near the Turkish border in northern Syria.
Newspapers close to the Turkish government said the attack will be launched against two out of five positions: Ain Issa in the countryside of Raqqa, Manbij in the countryside of Aleppo, Tal Rifaat also in the countryside of Aleppo, Ain Arab or Tal Tamer in the countryside of Hasakeh.
