The delay in the start of a new military operation by the Turkish army in northern Syria may be due to Ankara's desire to resolve differences with Russia and the United States, which express concern that Turkey's plans could worsen the situation in the region and provoke an additional escalation, the newspaper Sözcü reported on Wednesday.
The situation in Syria and the new operation of the Turkish Armed Forces in the adjacent territory on Wednesday will become one of the important items on the agenda of negotiations in Ankara between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, the newspaper notes.
On May 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced preparations for an army operation in the Manbij and Tell Rifat regions in northern Syria in order to expand the 30-kilometer security zone created in 2019. On June 4, he announced that the Turkish army was beginning to clear the region of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Self-Defense Forces (SNS), which Ankara considers to be terrorist organizations.
Erdogan personally announced Turkey's fifth operation in Syria, but it has not yet begun. At the same time, a very active diplomatic traffic began in Ankara, the newspaper writes, noting that the final goals of the previous operations were not achieved due to the objections of the United States and Russia.” “It looks like Erdogan wants to convince the United States and Russia, at least the Russian Federation, of the need for it before starting a new operation, Sözcü reports. The newspaper does not rule out that otherwise "the [Erdogan] administration, under the pretext of various reasons, may postpone the fifth operation in Syria.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday that the operation of the Turkish army in northern Syria will be launched at the right time and in the right place and it may not be limited to the areas of Tell Rifat and Manbij.
According to military sources, it is planned to involve about 50,000 Turkish military personnel and militants of the Syrian armed opposition, supported by Turkey, in the operation. As a result of Turkey's earlier operations in northern Syria, a security zone was created between the cities of Aazaz and Jerablus north of Aleppo, Afrin was occupied, and border areas east of the Euphrates River were taken under control.
