Turkey, U.S. to soon launch air operations against IS

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey and the United States will soon launch "comprehensive" air operations to flush Islamic State fighters from a zone in northern Syria bordering Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday, Aug 24.

Detailed talks between Washington and Ankara on the plans were completed on Sunday and regional allies including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan as well as Britain and France may also take part, Cavusoglu told Reuters in an interview.

"The technical talks have been concluded, yesterday, and soon we will start this operation, comprehensive operation, against Daesh (Islamic State)," he said.

The United States and Turkey plan to provide air cover for what Washington judges to be moderate Syrian rebels as part of the operations, which aim to flush Islamic State from a rectangle of border territory roughly 80 km (50 miles) long, officials familiar with the plans have said.

Diplomats say cutting Islamic State's access to the Turkish border, across which it has been able to bring foreign fighters and supplies, could be a game-changer. U.S. jets have already begun air strikes from Turkish bases in advance of the campaign.

Cavusoglu said the operations would also send a message to President Bashar al-Assad and help put pressure on his administration to come to the negotiating table and seek a political solution for Syria's wider war.

"Our aim should be eradicating Daesh from both Syria and Iraq, otherwise you cannot bring stability and security," said Cavusoglu, using another name for Islamic State. "But eliminating the root causes of the situation (in Syria) is also essential, which is the regime of course."

A Pentagon spokesman said U.S. and Turkish military officials had held talks on Sunday to work out the tactical details of integrating Turkish combat aircraft into the air campaign against Islamic State.

Cavusoglu said Syrian Kurdish PYD militia forces, which have proved a useful ally on the ground for Washington as it launched air strikes on Islamic State elsewhere in Syria, would not have a role in the "safe zone" that the joint operations aim to create, unless they changed their policies.

"Yes, the PYD has been fighting Daesh ... But the PYD is not fighting for the territorial integrity or political unity of Syria. This is unacceptable," Cavusoglu told Reuters.

Cavusoglu also said Turkey's military operations against PKK targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey, where Ankara has been carrying out air strikes over the past month, would continue until the group laid down its weapons.