Update: Erdogan on the joint Russian-Turkish patrols on Turkey/ Syria Border: Warpath Against PKK/YPG:
Note: on October 22, Erdogan said that in 150 hours the joint Russia Turkish patrols on the Syria/Turkey Border will begin: from Erdogan Presidency official Website
Oct 22 statement: OPERATION PEACE SPRING AIMS TO REMOVE THE TERRORIST ORGANIZATION FROM THE AREA AND FACILITATE THE RETURN OF REFUGEES”
Reiterating that Operation Peace Spring aims to remove the terrorist organization from the area and facilitate the return of refugees, President Erdoğan said: “The operation also secures the territorial integrity and political unity of Syria by eliminating the threat posed by the separatist terrorist organization. We do not have any designs on any country’s land or sovereignty. We as Turkey have taken all our steps on the ground with sensitivity.”
Noting that 365 thousand refugees have voluntarily returned to the 4-thousand-square-kilometer area Turkey cleared of terrorists through operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch, President Erdoğan said: “Syrian lands, once known for terror and conflict, have reached peace and stability with Turkey’s contributions. We want to extend this model to other areas in Syria’s north.”
“Our country, our nation has welcomed and embraced 3 million 650 thousand Syrian refugees, including 350 thousand Kurds, for the last 8.5 years,” President Erdoğan said.
“WE HAVE AGREED ON A HISTORIC MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING IN TERMS OF ENSURING SYRIA’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND POLITICAL UNITY”
Voicing his belief that a total of 2 million refugees will settle in the areas which will be made secure during Operation Peace Spring, President Erdoğan said the plans regarding this issue have been shared with Turkey’s interlocutors, and that these plans will be implemented with the contribution and support of the international community. President Erdoğan went on to say: “Today, together with Mr. Putin, we have agreed on a historic memorandum of understanding in terms of combatting terror, ensuring Syria’s territorial integrity and political unity, and of facilitating the return of refugees. According to this memorandum of understanding, Turkey and Russia will not allow any separatist agenda on Syrian territory. As of 12:00 noon on October 23, the YPG terrorists and their weapons will be removed to the depth of 30 kilometers within 150 hours. The trenches and fortifications of the organization will be destroyed. At the end of 150 hours, joint Russian-Turkish patrols will start in the west and the east of the area of Operation Peace Spring with a depth of 10 kilometers. All YPG terrorists and their weapons will be removed from Manbij and Tal Rifat. Both countries will take necessary measures to prevent infiltrations of terrorist elements, and a joint mechanism will be established to oversee and coordinate the implementation of this memorandum.”
“TURKEY AND RUSSIA WILL CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS TO FIND A POLITICAL SOLUTION FOR THE SYRIAN CRISIS”
Further stressing that Turkey and Russia will continue their efforts to find a political solution for the Syrian crisis, President Erdoğan noted: “I believe that the memorandum of understanding we have agreed on with Mr. Putin will start a new period towards ensuring lasting stability in Syria and ridding this country of terror.” President Erdoğan added: “As Syria’s neighbor and as friends of the Syrian people, we will continue to work with all our strength in order for peace, security and stability prevail once again in this country.”
Following the two presidents’ remarks, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov read out the Memorandum of Understanding between Turkey and the Russian Federation.
VOA weighs in:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkish-Russian joint military patrols will begin Friday in notheastern Syria, after the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish fighters under an agreement between the two countries.
“We will start the joint work on the ground on Friday,” Erdogan said Wednesday in a nationally televised speech.
The agreement calls for Turkish and Russian patrols to begin in northeastern Syria after Kurdish militia forces met a nearly four-day deadline that ended Tuesday to pull out from the area.
The deal to divide control of the area between Turkey and Russia was reached last week in the Russian Black Sea resort town of Sochi.
Russia’s defense minister said Tuesday that tens of thousands of the Syrian Kurdish fighters had completed their pullout from the area.
Erdogan said, however, he has information that “points to the fact” the pullout “wasn’t fully achieved.”
Erdogan said Turkey will have “the necessary response” to the situation in northeastern Syria “after we carry out work in the field.”
The recent Turkish invasion of the area ended following the agreement, but Erdogan emphasized that Turkey “reserves the right to carry out its own operation” if it finds any Syrian Kurdish forces or if his troops are attacked.
The Kurdish-led forces had been close U.S. allies during a five-year military campaign to oust the Islamic State in Syria.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Trump abruptly announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the area, paving the way for the Turkish offensive.
The Kurds have since sought protection from the Russian and Syrian governments.
Background: “With Operation Peace Spring, Turkey has taken down the theatre of blackmails and schemes and has revealed the truth” Reporting Erdogan official website
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed district governors during a meeting at the Presidential Complex.
“THE SUCCESS OF THE AGREEMENTS WITH THE U.S. AND RUSSIA IS CONTINGENT ON THE TOTAL ELIMINATION OF THE PKK/YPG AND DAESH FROM SYRIA”
President Erdoğan said: “The success of the agreements we have reached with the U.S. and Russia is contingent on the total elimination of the PKK/YPG and DAESH terror organizations’ presence from Syrian lands starting from our borders. We express this to our counterparts, too, at every opportunity.”
Stressing Turkey’s determination in the fight against terror both at home and beyond its borders, President Erdoğan stated: “Whether they be the U.S., Russia, the regime or any other power, if they attempt to put any terrorist organization in our way under different names and flags or in different uniforms, we will never fall for any such game. If that turns out to be the case, no offence but we will never hesitate to walk down our own path. And we will never calculate the magnitude of the price we may have to pay on that path. That game had been staged many times in the past; yet, the entire world has now accepted that the PKK and the YPG are the same organization.”
Following is the press statement on the phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Donald Trump of the United States:
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a telephone conversation with President Donald J. Trump of the U.S. this evening.
The leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as the planned safe zone east of the Euphrates River.
President Erdoğan expressed that a safe zone was a must for creating the conditions for the elimination of the terror threat posed by the PKK-YPG and for the return of Syrian refugees to their country.
It was underscored that Turkey, determined to continue the fight against DAESH terrorist organization in Syria, would take all kinds of measures in order to prevent the recurrence of such a problem in the region ever again.
The frustration over U.S. military and security bureaucracy’s failure to fulfill the agreement between the two nations was shared with Mr. Trump.
Upon U.S. President Trump’s invitation, the two leaders decided to meet next month in Washington, D.C.
“THOSE WHO HAD FOR YEARS SEEN DAESH AS AN EXCUSE TO PROTECT THE PKK/YPG HAVE NOW SEEN THAT BOTH OF THE ORGANIZATIONS SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE”
President Erdoğan continued as follows: “Likewise, those who had for years seen DAESH as an excuse to protect the PKK/YPG have now seen that both of the organizations serve the same purpose just like two sides of the same coin. It is so painful that the international community has for such a long time become a toy of the blackmail the two terrorist organizations have plotted in collusion. It is even more painful that big states have attempted to stand behind this tragic game in earnest. Operation Peace Spring, which Turkey launched at 4 p.m. on October 9, has taken down the theatre of blackmails and schemes and has revealed the truth.”
17.10.2019
JOINT TURKISH-US STATEMENT ON NORTHEAST SYRIA
1. The US and Turkey reaffirm their relationship as fellow members of NATO. The US understands Turkey’s legitimate security concerns on Turkey’s southern border.
2. Turkey and the US agree that the conditions on the ground, northeast Syria in particular, necessitate closer coordination on the basis of common interests.
3. Turkey and the US remain committed to protecting NATO territories and NATO populations against all threats with the solid understanding of “one for all and all for one”.
4. The two countries reiterate their pledge to uphold human life, human rights, and the protection of religious and ethnic communities.
5. Turkey and the US are committed to D-ISIS/DAESH activities in northeast Syria. This will include coordination on detention facilities and internally displaced persons from formerly ISIS/DAESH-controlled areas, as appropriate.
6. Turkey and the US agree that counter-terrorism operations must target only terrorists and their hideouts, shelters, emplacements, weapons, vehicles and equipment.
7. The Turkish side expressed its commitment to ensure safety and well-being of residents of all population centers in the safe zone controlled by the Turkish Forces (safe zone) and reiterated that maximum care will be exercised in order not to cause harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure.
8. Both countries reiterate their commitment to the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria and UN-led political process, which aims at ending the Syrian conflict in accordance with UNSCR 2254.
9. The two sides agreed on the continued importance and functionality of a safe zone in order to address the national security concerns of Turkey, to include the re-collection of YPG heavy weapons and the disablement of their fortifications and all other fighting positions.
10. The safe zone will be primarily enforced by the Turkish Armed Forces and the two sides will increase their cooperation in all dimensions of its implementation.
11. The Turkish side will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to allow the withdrawal of YPG from the safe zone within 120 hours. Operation Peace Spring will be halted upon completion of this withdrawal.
12. Once Operation Peace Spring is paused, the US agrees not to pursue further imposition of sanctions under the Executive Order of October 14, 2019, Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria, and will work and consult with Congress, as appropriate, to underline the progress being undertaken to achieve peace and security in Syria, in accordance with UNSCR 2254. Once Operation Peace Spring is halted as per paragraph 11 the current sanctions under the aforementioned Executive Order shall be lifted.
13. Both parties are committed to work together to implement all the goals outlined in this Statement.