SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Turkey’s Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar on Saturday said that his country is in talks with Russia to use the airspace above northern Syria for a potential cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia
Turkey has carried out several incursions into northern Syria against the YPG and has been threatening a new incursion for months.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Akar said Ankara was in talks with Moscow, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, about the operation.
“We are in talks and discussing with Russia about all issues including opening the airspace,” he said.
Turkey sees the YPG militia, the leading presence in the SDF, as the Syrian wing of the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Washington’s support for the YPG in the fight against Islamic State has infuriated Ankara, causing a major rift between the NATO allies.
