Alwaght- Turkey says it is ready to join the upcoming operation to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa if Kurds are excluded.
The northern Raqqa city is currently under the control of ISIS terrorists and US backed Kurds are preparing to initiate an operation to liberate the city.
Ankara that is worried about advancements of Kurds near its southern border has already entered the Syrian territory in an operation dubbed “Euphrates Shield” to stop their further advancement.
Turkey move was condemned by Damascus as an aggression against its territory.
“Turkey wants to join ... in a military operation to push ISIS from its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, as long as it excludes Kurdish rebel forces,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by private broadcaster NTV as saying on Sunday.
Erdogan said, "Our foreign minister and military authorities are in talks with the United States discussing the matter of Raqqa."
Earlier on Friday, Erdogan had addressed US officials, saying, “If you think you can finish off ISIS with the YPG and PYD, you cannot, because they are terrorist groups too.”
Turkey regards the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and its affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), as terrorist forces allied with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region on Turkish soil for more than three decades.
