Turkey hints at new military actions on southern borders
Turkey is aiming to launch attacks on its borders with Syria and Iraq to, as it claims, conduct counter-terrorism operations.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkish officials attend the National Security Council meeting in Ankara, Turkey, May 26, 2022
The Turkish National Security Council hinted Thursday at a "new military operation" on Turkey's southern border following recent statements from national officials and clashed with Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants.
"Current and future military operations being conducted on Turkey’s southern borders do not target the territorial integrity of its neighbors, but stem from national security needs and will contribute to their security as well," the National Security Council (MGK) said in a statement.
During a three-hour meeting chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and attended by several ministers and commanders, the officials discussed operations and investigations against the PKK, the People's Protection Units (YPG), the Gulen movement, and ISIS.
The MGK called on countries harboring "terrorist groups and violating international law" to refrain from doing so and cater to Ankara's "security concerns".
Turkey "fulfills its obligations in international organizations and alliances with the spirit of an ally and by the principle pacta sunt servanda."
Iraq and Syria are on Turkey's southern borders, and the "operations" could see Ankara bolstering its occupation of Syrian and Iraqi territories to "safeguard its security.
President Erdogan announced Monday that the Turkish army intended to "launch counterterrorism operations on Turkey's borders [...] the decision about these operations will be taken seen."
Anakara, according to Erdogan, "will start taking new steps to complete the safe zone 30 km into Syrian soil" noting that the armed forces would prioritize the areas used to launch attacks on Turkish-occupied areas.
In response to Ankara's plans, the Syrian ministry of foreign affairs sent a message to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council protesting against Turkey's plans to establish a "safe zone" on Syrian soil. Damascus considered the move "a form of aggression against Damascus."
"What the Turkish regime is doing to establish a so-called safe zone on Syrian soil is an act of aggression and an act of colonization through which the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to create an [unstable] outpost in Syria," Damascus said on Wednesday in a statement reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
