ISTANBUL, Turkey —
Turkey will not wait for US “permission” to launch a new offensive in
Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks published on
Sunday, defying a warning from Washington.
اضافة اعلان
“One cannot fight terrorism while waiting for the
permission of whoever,” Erdogan told a group of journalists upon returning from
a visit to Azerbaijan.
“What will we do if the US does not do its part in
the fight against terrorism? We will get by on our own,” he said.
Erdogan’s talk of an offensive comes as he threatens
to block the
NATO membership of Finland and Sweden, which have sought to join
the Western alliance out of alarm at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Erdogan alleges there is support for Kurdish PKK
militants in the two Nordic states, which have launched talks with Ankara in a
bid to ease its concerns.
The president said on Monday Turkey would soon
launch a new military operation into northern Syria to create a 30km “security
zone” along the border.
The US on Tuesday warned Turkey against launching a
new operation, saying the uneasy NATO ally would be putting US troops at risk.
Turkey has launched three offensives into
Syria since
2016 aimed at crushing Syrian Kurdish fighters who assisted the US-led campaign
against Daesh.
Ankara alleges these fighters are allied with the
PKK.
The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist organization by
Ankara and its Western allies, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish
state since 1984.
Erdogan said Turkish, Swedish, and Finnish talks in
Ankara on Wednesday fell short of Turkey’s expectations.
He again accused the two Nordic countries of
“supporting terrorism”, claiming that Sweden is neither “sincere” nor “honest”.
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