Turkish Cypriot premier hails anti-terror push in Syria

HATAY-Anadolu Agency

The Turkish Cypriot prime minister on Oct. 26 said his country has always stood with Turkey in its legitimate fight against terrorism.

“We Turkish Cypriots have always taken the side of Turkey in its legitimate fight [against terror],” Ersin Tatar said, speaking at a festival held in Hatay, southern Turkey, bordering the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have long supported each other, and this will continue, he added.

Hailing Turkey’s counter-terrorism operation in northern Syria -- Operation Peace Spring -- Tatar said two global powers, Russia and the U.S., are on the same page for Turkey’s operation, unlike their previous conflicting policies across the world.

He said the response of Washington and Moscow is a sign of Turkey’s greatness.

He said the operation would bring peace and stability to the region, and indirectly to Turkish Cyprus, and congratulated the Turkish administration on its move.

Launched on Oct. 9, Operation Peace Spring aims to eliminate the terrorist YPG/PKK elements from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity. 

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.

On Oct. 22 Ankara and Moscow reached a deal under which YPG/PKK terrorists will pull back 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Turkey’s border with northern Syria within 150 hours, and security forces from Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols there.