Turkey - troops to go further into Syria, says foreign minister: FRANCE 24 English

FRANCE 24 English

Published on Sep 25, 2016

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In an interview with FRANCE 24, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara is planning to send troops 45 kilometres into Syrian territory to establish a no-fly zone and a safe zone.

Cavusoglu noted that the Free Syrian Army forces, supported by Turkey and the West, had made good progress against the Islamic State (IS) group - and that this should serve as a model for the campaign to take back Raqqa from the IS group.

He denied allegations that Turkey had entered Syria to attack the PYD/YPG Kurdish group, but warned that the US had not fulfilled its promise to Turkey that those groups would not cross the Euphrates. Furthermore, Cavusoglu blasted Washington for arming the PYD/YPG group, calling this decision "unacceptable". 

The foreign minister also squarely blamed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies for the failure of the ceasefire, adding that the regime were also clearly responsible for the attack on the aid convoy. Cavusoglu also called for an independent investigation into the attack on the convoy.

Furthermore, Cavusoglu told FRANCE 24 that Turkey had provided the US with solid evidence of cleric Fetullah Gulen's role in the failed coup in Turkey, and that Ankara is  therefore expecting that he will be extradited soon.