Turkey slams UAE’s foreign minister for accusations about ‘Operation Olive Branch’

ANKARA

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on March 20 criticized the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan for his remarks that Turkey’s military operation in Syria is “a threat to the Arab world.”

Al-Nahyan’s remarks “are impossible to understand and do not show good intention” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said in a written statement.

The Turkish army’s ongoing “Operation Olive Branch” in the northwestern Afrin province was being conducted to eliminate terror threats against Turkey, he said.

Turkey’s support for “the preservation of Syria’s political unity and territorial integrity, efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability in this country” and “the responsibility taken for 3.5 million Syrian refugees” have been obvious to all, said the spokesperson.

Turkey cares about peace, security and stability in Arab countries, with which it maintains exceptional historical and humane ties, Turkey also gives its strong support to the common cause of the Islamic world, especially Jerusalem, Aksoy added.

“It has been well-known for a while to which circles [U.A.E. officials] are serving based on their remarks,” he said.

Al-Nahyan previously made a tweet on Dec. 16 criticizing the historical ties between the Ottoman Empire and Arab nations, accusing Fahreddin Pasha, a Medina governor and commander of the Ottoman Empire, of committing crimes against the people during the Siege of Medina in 1916.