Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected a US call for an immediate ceasefire in northern Syria, saying Turkey’s offensive will continue.
Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Baku, Erdogan said talks with Washington and Moscow on Syria’s Kobane and Manbij towns continued, and added it was “not negative” for the Syrian army to enter Manbij as long as fighters in the area were cleared.
He also said he had told the US president that Turkey would “not negotiate with a terrorist organisation” in response to Trump’s mediation offer.
His comments come as US Vice-President Mike Pence and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepare to fly to Turkey to try to broker a truce.
On Tuesday, Russia warned that it would not allow clashes to take place between Turkish and Syrian forces.
Meanwhile, Education was suspended for two days in the northern Syrian town of Jarabulus, held by the Syrian armed opposition, due to attacks from the PKK/YPG terrorist group.
Terrorists targeted the Gandura neighborhood of Jarabulus district on Tuesday. Six civilians were killed in the attack, with 13 injured.
Turkey says its offensive aims to push Kurdish forces from the border region. It considers elements of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a terrorist organisation.
Ankara also says it wants to create a “safe zone” reaching about 30km (20 miles) into Syria to resettle up to two million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey.
However, Syrian forces – which are backed by Russia – advanced north at the weekend following a deal with the Kurds to try to hold back the Turkish operation.
