Turkey nearing its goals through pact with US: Official

ANKARA

Turkey has taken an important step towards achieving the primary goals of Operation Peace Spring through its agreement with the U.S., a Turkish official said on Oct. 17.

“With this agreement, Turkey has taken an important step towards achieving the primary goals of the operation rapidly, namely clearing our border from terrorists and establishing a safe zone, thanks to the strong leadership of our President and the success of Turkish Armed Forces on the ground,” Communications Director Fahrettin Altun wrote on Twitter, referring to the Turkish Armed Forces.

“This agreement has demonstrated once again that joint action is required against all kinds of terror and one terrorist organization should never be preferred over another,” he added.

Vice President Fuat Oktay also hailed the agreement on Twitter. 

"With its strength in the field, strategy on the table and our leader's firm stance, Turkey has won," he wrote.

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring on Oct. 9 to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

Ankara wants to clear northern Syria east of the Euphrates River of the terrorist PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the PYD/YPG.

The U.S.-backed SDF, a group dominated by the YPG, has been controlling some 28 percent of the Syrian territories, including the most of the 911-kilometer-long Syria-Turkey border.

Turkey deems the YPG the Syrian offshoot of the illegal PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization also by the United States and the EU.