ISTANBUL, Turkey, June 15 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warned, on Friday, that, his country would not remain silent, if the Syrian government continues to attack Turkish observation posts in the Syrian province of Idlib.
“The continuation of the attacks on this region with barrels and phosphorus bombs is unforgivable,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul, before departing for Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, for an Asian summit.
“And it is not possible for us to remain silent,” he said.
A Turkish observation post in Idlib was hit by 35 mortar rounds, fired by the Syrian government forces, and three Turkish soldiers were injured, the Turkish Defence Ministry said, a day earlier.
Turkey established 12 observation posts in Idlib, to monitor cease-fire and prevent the influx of refugees, under a deal with Russia and Iran.
“We want peace to prevail here,” Erdogan said, adding Turkey is listening to the voice of the Syrian people in the region.
He also said, Turkey is still resolved to remove the presence of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, a Kurdish militia seen by Ankara as a terrorist group.
“Our strategic partner, the U.S., has not kept its promise, regarding Manbij and the expectations did not happen there,” said Erdogan.
Turkey has been expecting the United States to help clear Syria’s Manbij of the YPG, while Washington sees the Kurdish fighters as an ally in the fight against the Daesh militants.
“The U.S. failure to implement the Manbij deal does not mean that Turkey abandoned these areas,” Erdogan said. “We maintain all our plans in the same way and we will continue to do so.”– NNN-ANADOLU
