Turkey fights against terrorism, not Kurds: Erdoğan
ANKARA-Anadolu Agency
Turkey's current operation in northern Syria is not against Kurds, but against terrorist groups, Turkey's president told an anti-terror conference in Istanbul on Oct. 11.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey's anti-terror operations in northern Iraq and Syria -- including Operation Peace Spring, launched on Oct. 9, and Operation Claw in northern Iraq, launched this summer -- never target countries' territorial integrity or sovereignty.
"Turkey will ensure its border security and the safe return of Syrians by clearing terrorist groups from east of the Euphrates River as we did with west of the Euphrates," said Erdogan, referring to previous anti-terror operations since 2016.
He added that Operation Peace Spring means to protect rights of all the people of northern Syria -- Arabs, Kurds, Ezidis, Chaldeans -- not to divide Syria.
