Erdogan to discuss possible Turkish operation in Syria with Putin: RIA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is scheduled to discuss with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a possible Turkish military operation in northern Syria, where it has been confronting US-backed militants.

Erdogan said he would hold talks with President Putin in Moscow on Monday, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

"Our preparations on the border are finished, everything is ready for an operation. We can begin it at any moment. I will discuss this issue among others face-to-face (with Putin) on my visit to Russia," Erdogan was cited as saying.

The Turkish leader has vowed that his troops would crush the US-backed YPG militia east of the Euphrates in northern Syria, saying the militant group could not rely on Washington’s support to defeat the Anatolian country. 

He said last year that preparations were complete for an operation.

Turkey considers the YPG as a terrorist organization and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an autonomous region inside Turkey since 1984.

Turkey has been infuriated by US support for the YPG, which forms the backbone of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an anti-Damascus alliance of predominantly Kurdish militants.

Turkey first deployed forces to northern Syria in 2016 to repel the YPG under the banner of the so-called “Operation Euphrates Shield.”

The Turkish incursion in Syria’s northwestern region of Afrin started after the United States said it sought to set up a thousand-strong force in Syria near the Turkish border comprising SDF, which is led by the YPG.

Syria views the Turkish military intervention as a violation of its sovereignty, and has repeatedly called on Ankara to pull its forces out.

Turkey, however, has vowed to press ahead with attacks on the positions of the YPG.

Last month, US President Donald Trump ordered a quick withdrawal of all 2,000 American forces from Syria but then said troops would get out slowly “over a period of time.”

Trump's decision to leave Syria has exposed the Kurdish group to possible Turkish attacks.

The United States, which has set up observation posts on the Syrian side of the border, has warned Turkey against a new incursion and said the newly constructed positions would help deter any security threat against Turkey coming from Syria.

In a separate development on Sunday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the easiest way to resolve the issue of Rukban refugee camp near Syria’s frontier with Jordan is to put an end to the unlawful US occupation of the Syrian territory.

"I think that the easiest and most effective choice would be to put an end to the unlawful occupation of this territory by the United States," he said.

The camp is located near the US base at al-Tanf which is a key center for training and equipping militants opposed to the Syrian government.

The top Russian diplomat further said that that US forces cooperate with militants in al-Tanf zone, urging Washington to end its “occupation” of the region.

"The Americans have announced the establishment of some safety zone in the al-Tanf area with a 55-kilometer radius. It is unclear what they base their illegal presence there on: it is basically occupation."

“There is a lot of illegal armed groups there, and the Americans are gladly cooperating with them, as far as I understand, to help them recover their strength," he said.

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