Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday said that Turkey is in talks with Russia to use the airspace above northern Syria. The talks are for a potential cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.
This comes after Turkish President Recep Erdogan said last month that the Turkish military could launch ground operations in northern Syria and Iraq besides the air campaigns. Erdogan also mentioned that nobody should be “disturbed” by the country’s military operations in Syria.
Turkey has already carried out three raids there and after a bomb attack in Istanbul, that killed six people and left 81 wounded, Istanbul intensified its attacks last month. Ankara blamed the attacks on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
But PKK militant group and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have denied involvement in the bombing of the busy pedestrian avenue.
During his interaction with reporters on Saturday (December 24), Akar said Ankara was in talks with Moscow, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, about the operation.
He said: “We are in talks and discussing with Russia about all issues including opening the airspace.”
Last month, Erdogan said that Syria’s military operations aim to expand its circle of security and peace. He had said Turkey’s determination to form a 30-kilometre-long security corridor along the southern border with Syria.
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