Turkey has threatened to launch an offensive against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, which it accuses of being aligned with the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), if the militant group fails to agree to Ankara's demands in the wake of the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made the remarks in an interview with the CNN Turk TV channel on Tuesday, stressing that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist regime in Syria must address the issue of the YPG’s presence.
"We will do what's necessary" if the YPG does not meet Turkish demands and Damascus was unable to address the issue, Fidan said.
When asked what that might entail, he said a "military operation."
He went on to say that Turkey believes the HTS has the power to battle the YPG on its own, but added that this may take time as a transition period is underway in Damascus.
Since the fall of Assad, Ankara has demanded that the YPG disband, its non-Syrian militants and foreign terrorist fighters leave Syria or be repatriated to their countries of origin, and its leaders turn themselves in.
Fidan further noted that the United States supported the YPG for various reasons, including purportedly confronting the Daesh terrorist group, when it was present in Syria.
However, he said, many of these reasons no longer exist, adding, "The ultimatum we gave them (the YPG) through the Americans is obvious."
MP/PressTV
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