TURKEY'S WAR ON YPG/PKK KURDISTAN

US reacts to Turkey's attacks on northern Syria

TEHRAN, Jun. 01 (MNA) – US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that any new Turkish attack on northern Syria will weaken the stability of the region and aggravate the situation.

"We remain deeply concerned about discussions of potential increased military activity in northern Syria," Price said.

Saying that the US supports the maintenance of current ceasefire lines, Price stated, "We would condemn any escalation that has the potential to jeopardize that. We believe it is crucial for all sides to maintain and respect ceasefire zones, principally to enhance stability in Syria and to work towards a political solution to the conflict."

"Any new offensive would further undermine regional stability and would put at risk," he added.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his country would not take permission from anyone to fight terrorism.

Syrian Foreign Ministry has described the movements of Turkey and its affiliated militias' actions in northern Syria as war crimes.

Turkey’s armed forces are ready for another cross-border operation in northern Syria, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday.

"The Turkish armed forces are ready for any tasks [in northern Syria]," Turkey’s TRT television channel quoted the minister as saying.

Akar also pledged to continue the fight against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the so-called National Defense Forces (NDF), a Syrian force Ankara believes has links to the PKK, till the last terrorist is eliminated.

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Turkey targets US coalition positions in Syria for 1st time

TEHRAN, Jun. 01 (MNA) – News sources reported that Turkish forces had targeted the US coalition positions in Syria for the first time.

According to the Al Mayadeen report, Turkish forces on Wednesday intensively attacked several positions in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, including the positions of the US coalition.

The report comes just hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks about expanding the scope of attacks on Syrian soil.

Erdogan on Wednesday said that Turkey is set to clear two areas of northern Syria, near the Turkish border, of terrorist elements and the Turkish operation will continue gradually in other parts of Syria.

“We are entering a new phase of our decision to establish a safe zone 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) deep south (of the Turkish-Syrian border). We are clearing Tel Rifat and Manbij of terrorists,” he told a group meeting of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in the capital Ankara.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Tuesday reacted to the Turkish moves in Syria and said that any new Turkish attack on northern Syria will weaken the stability of the region and aggravate the situation.

"We remain deeply concerned about discussions of potential increased military activity in northern Syria," Price said.

Saying that the US supports the maintenance of current ceasefire lines, Price stated, "We would condemn any escalation that has the potential to jeopardize that. We believe it is crucial for all sides to maintain and respect ceasefire zones, principally to enhance stability in Syria and to work towards a political solution to the conflict."

"Any new offensive would further undermine regional stability and would put at risk," he added.

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The National: Turkey Calls On German And French Envoys To Protest Against Kurdish Militant Events

“Turkey summoned the German and French ambassadors to Ankara to protest against events organised by Kurdish militants in their countries. The envoys were told of Turkey's discomfort with the events organised by the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU, state-run Anadolu news agency cited Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying on Tuesday. On a possible operation in northern Syria, Mr Cavusoglu vowed to “eliminate terrorist threat at home and abroad — in Syria and wherever it is”. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed plans for a cross-border incursion against Kurdish militants in Syria to create a 30-kilometre buffer. Ankara staged a military operation against the Kurdish group YPG, or People’s Protection Units, in October 2019. Russia, the Syrian government, and the US have troops in the border region. Turkish officials consider the YPG to be a terrorist group linked to the outlawed PKK, which has waged an insurgency against Turkey since 1984, leading to tens of thousands of deaths. The YPG is central to US-led forces in the fight against ISIS in Syria. On Russia-Ukraine war, there was a possibility of bringing the parties together, perhaps at leadership level, as part of Turkey's negotiation efforts, Mr Cavusoglu said.”