Erdogan: Turkey will stay in Syria till the elections
Turkey will maintain its presence in Syria until elections are held in that country, stated Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
“When the Syrian people hold elections, we will leave Syria to those to whom it belongs. But only after they have the elections,” said Erdogan.
While speaking at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Syrian Deputy Prime Minister, Walid Muallem said that Syria demands that the United States, France, and Turkey withdraw its troops from its territory.
In March 2017, Turkish troops completed the military operation “Euphrates Shield” which began in August 2016. The goal of the operation was to create a “safe zone” under the control of Turkey. This zone is a triangular-shaped area between the Syrian cities of Azaz, Jarablus and El Bab. In March of this year, Turkish troops and the newly formed Syrian freedom army entered the Syrian city of Afrin (65 km from Aleppo) after the military operation against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) which lasted from January 20th.