Turkish troops to stay in Syria until threats are eliminated

Turkey’s Defence Minister, Nurettin Canikli, said on Tuesday that his country’s troops must stay in Syria until threats against them are eliminated.

“The Turkish forces are moving in Idlib with the Free Syrian Army. Ankara supports the Syrians who defend themselves and their lands,” said Canikli during a visit to Georgia. “The Turkish forces will stay in Idlib until the threats against Turkey from the Syrian side end.”

On Monday, the Turkish army announced that it had started reconnaissance activities to set up monitoring sites to reduce tension in the north-western Syrian province of Idlib. According to a statement by Turkey’s Chief of Staff, the activities are coordinated with Russian and Iranian troops. He pointed out that the Turkish army carries out its activities in Idlib within the deal reached with Russia and Iran, as guarantor countries, to establish de-escalation zones in Syria.

Read: Turkish troops support Free Syrian Army advance in Idlib, says Erdogan