Erdogan: Turkey will pay higher price later if does not act in Syria

Turkey will pay a higher price later if it does not do what is necessary in northern Syria today, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday (August 6) after vowing at the weekend to carry out a military operation in a Kurdish-controlled area east of the Euphrates.

Turkey has undertaken two previous military operations in northern Syria. In a speech to Turkish ambassadors in Ankara, Erdogan said that this “process would, God willing, very soon be taken to a new stage.”

Turkey expects the United States to take steps that are worthy of a true ally, Erdogan added, primarily in regard to partnering in the fight against terror.

"We will defend our national interests by means of soft power, forceful diplomacy or realpolitik as necessary (in Syria)," Erdogan said.

Erdogan said Turkey will soon move into the next stage in the process to eliminate People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists from northern Syria, as it did in operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch.

His comment came just hours after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Washington intends to prevent an anti-terror operation by Turkish forces in northern Syria, where the US has backed the YPG, initially in its fight against ISIS. The YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK, which is recognized as a terror group by Turkey, the US and the EU.

Based on Reuters, DS