Turkey not to wait for US 'permission' to launch Syria offensive
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The colonization of Syrian territory is stood against by both Syria and the US.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will not wait for Washington's "permission" to launch a new offensive in Syria, defying a warning from the US.
"One cannot fight terrorism while waiting for the permission of whoever," Erdogan told journalists after returning from an Azerbaijan visit.
"What will we do if the United States does not do its part in the fight against terrorism? We will get by on our own," he said.
Read more: Turkey 'safe zone' in Syria is colonization: Damascus to UN
This comes as Erdogan has been threatening to block Finland and Sweden's NATO membership, who have decided to join the alliance after Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
Erdogan has previously argued that Finland and Sweden are supporters of the US-backed Kurdish PKK militants, who are US-backed, aiding in resource theft and US occupation in northeastern Syria. The two Nordic states have recently initiated talks with Turkey to come to an agreement.
On Wednesday, the talks between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland "fell short of Turkey's expectations," according to Erdogan, accusing the Nordic states of "supporting terrorism", slamming Sweden as being neither "sincere" nor "honest".
Furthermore, the Turkish president also said that on Monday Turkey will be launching a new military operation in northern Syria to create a "security zone" along the border, stretching 30 km.
On Tuesday earlier this week, the US warned Turkey against launching an operation, as it would put US troops in danger.
On its part, Iran, through its spokesperson, announced it is against Turkey's military operation in Syria. In response to a question on Turkey's possible military operation in Syria, the Spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Iran opposes "any military action and the use of force on the territory of other countries in order to resolve disputes between them."
Khatibzadeh further said that Iran considers such military action to be "a violation of the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of those countries," according to the Mehr news agency.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched 3 operations in Syria under the pretext of ridding the country of Kurdish fighters, who have worked hand-in-hand with US soldiers to occupy land in the northeastern region for oil and other natural resources. For Ankara, the PKK is a designated terrorist organization, as it has conducted a series of aggressions against Ankara since 1984.
