CAIRO, Oct 9 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt, Greece and Cyprus slammed the military operation announced by Turkey, to be launched soon in Syrian territories.
The remarks came in a final communique, after a tripartite summit in Cairo attended by Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President, Nicos Anastasiades, according to state-run Ahram news.
The three leaders expressed their “deep concern” against the “illegal and illegitimate” Turkish military operation in Syria, strongly condemning any Turkish attempts to undermine the territorial integrity of Syria.
On Tuesday, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said, the Turkish army has completed all preparations for a military operation, in the east of the Euphrates River in Syria, to establish a safe zone.
Turkey decided to launch the military campaign against the Kurdish militants in northern Syria, following the decision by U.S. President, Donald Trump’s administration to leave Syria.
The People’s Protection Units (YPG), which controls the east of the Euphrates, was a key partner of the United States, but Ankara considers it as a “terrorist” offshoot of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in Syria.
Meanwhile, leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Egypt tackled illegal migration and the importance of intensifying global efforts to combat terrorism.
The summit is the seventh, since tripartite cooperation between the three countries was launched in late 2014, and the third to be hosted by Cairo.– NNN-MENA