This will be the third operation of Ankara in the Northern border areas of Syria. Russia and the US have been warned about the new operation, the Turkish President assured.

Turkey is going to conduct a new military operation in the Kurdish-controlled area east of the Euphrates in northern Syria.

“We went into Afrin, Dzharablus, and al-Bab. Now we will go East of the Euphrates,” Erdogan quoted FreeNews as saying at the opening ceremony of the highway.

Ankara has already announced such plans, but the decision to conduct a new military operation was postponed after an agreement was reached with Washington on the creation of a safe zone on the North-Eastern border of Syria with Turkey, which provided for the purification of the territory from the Kurdish People’s defense units (YPG).

Later, Ankara accused Washington of slowing down the process of creating a safe zone and demanded to break off relations with YPG. “People’s self-defense units” were Washington’s main ally in Syria in the fight against the “Islamic state,” but Turkey considers YPG a terrorist organization.

Erdogan added that both Russia and the United States are notified of the planned operation. He did not say when the operation would begin. This will be the third Turkish invasion of Syria since the beginning of the armed conflict in the country.

In 2016-2017, Turkey conducted a military operation “Shield of the Euphrates” in Syria. In 2018, Ankara began operation “Olive Branch” in Syria, the purpose of which was to occupy Syrian Afrin, which was at that time under the control of Kurdish armed groups.