FM:

Turkey Cannot Discuss Syria Safe Zone with US Until It Rebuilds Trust

TEHRAN (defapress)- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that the US should first build trust by taking concrete steps before discussing the establishment of a 30-kilometer safe zone in Syria.

News ID: 68282

Date: 25 January 2018 - 18:25

Speaking to reporters on his way back from France, where he met US Counterpart Rex Tillerson, Cavusoglu stressed that that Washington needs to start taking concrete actions to win Ankara's trust again, Daily Sabah reported.

"There was a loss of trust with the United States during this period. Until trust is instilled again, it is not right for these issues to be discussed," he added.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Thursday the US cooperation with terrorist organizations is "self-humiliating" for Washington.

"It is really very humiliating for America to hold business with terror organizations, [and] take actions it planned with a terror organization in the region," Yildirim said at a signing ceremony to introduce countrywide all-in-one payment system in Ankara, Anadolu Agency reported.

Referring to the US, Yildirim added that the country, which Turkey has worked together with for many years in the region and called it "ally" in NATO, is clinging to terror groups.

"It is a sad and a dire situation," he said, adding that it is “unacceptable” that such country, instead of protecting the borders of NATO, is supporting the terror establishments.

"We will not tolerate any terror establishment along our 1,350-kilometer-long (839 miles) Southern border from Iran to the Mediterranean sea, Iraq, Syria, Euphrates river's East or West," Yildirim stressed.

Turkey’s Operation ‘Olive Branch’ kicked off on Saturday from air and ground around the area of Afrin in Syria's Aleppo to oust the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday stressed that Turkish offensive in Afrin is part of Ankara's strategy based on supporting terrorists.

The Syrian government has condemned the “brutal Turkish aggression” against the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, rejecting Ankara’s claim about having informed Damascus of the operation.

The Damascus government had made clear to Ankara that it considers Turkey’s military presence on its territory as a violation of its sovereignty, and warned that it will shoot down Turkish bombers in Syrian airspace.

Washington also continues providing Kurdish fighters with more military hardware in Syria despite US President's promise to his Turkish counterpart to halt arms shipment to the Kurdish fighters.

Ankara said late November 2017 that Trump told Erdogan that he had issued instructions that weapons should not be provided to Kurdish fighters in Syria.

According to reports, the US plans to keep its troops in Syria long after the defeat of ISIL. Washington has been justifying its deployment of ground troops in Syria, which violates the embattled nation’s sovereignty, by citing the need to fight ISIL.