Turkey announced Tuesday that it was still “determined” to launch an operation against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria despite a delay caused by the United States’ decision to withdraw its troops from Syria.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters Tuesday that "if Turkey says it will enter, it will."
He added that Turkey aimed to cross the east of the Euphrates as soon as possible, the Hurriyet daily said, without giving further details.
Turkey and the United States have also agreed to complete their agreement on the Syrian town of Manbij by the time the United States finishes its withdrawal, Cavusoglu also revealed, according to the state-owned Anadolu news agency.
Ankara was still working with Washington to coordinate the pullout of its forces.
Cavusoglu will travel to Russia to discuss the process of the US withdrawal in the coming days, broadcaster CNN Turk said.
The minister said Turkey also requested that the US take back the heavy weaponry it gave the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in its fight against ISIS, Hurriyet reported.
For weeks, Turkey has been threatening to launch a new offensive against the Kurdish fighters, who partnered with the US to drive the ISIS terrorist group out of much of northern and eastern Syria. Turkey views the Kurdish forces as terrorists because of their links to an insurgent group inside Turkey.
Cavusoglu said Turkey has the "strength to neutralize" ISIS on its own.
President Donald Trump announced the planned withdrawal of US forces after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month.
