Erdogan: Turkey won’t Let Syria Safe Zone be Turned into "Swamp"

• 01.22.2019, 10:11
•  Near East,  World

Vox

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would never allow implementation of a safe zone in northern Syria that will turn into “a swamp” like northern Iraq, TRT World reports.

"We can never allow an implementation of a safe zone [to be established in northern Syria] to be transformed into another swamp against our country," Erdogan said at a meeting in the capital Ankara on Monday.

He said, however, that Ankara was not against the formation of a 30-km safe zone in northern Syria near Turkey’s border, adding the aim of a safe zone should be to keep terrorist organisations away from Turkey's border.

The president said Turkey has “no eye” on Syria's territorial integrity, adding he would also discuss the issue with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow in the upcoming days.

About a possible operation in the region east of the Euphrates River, Erdogan said almost all preparations have been completed and Turkey was ready to start the operation.

“I said this to President Trump, you give us logistical support and we will clean Daesh from the area. We will clean the other terrorists in this area as well,” Erdogan said.