Turkey’s incursion will not go further than 30 km into northeast Syria, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, as Turkish forces pressed on against Kurdish fighters on the second day of the operation.
Speaking to broadcaster CNN Turk, Cavusoglu said that the security threat which Turkey says it faces from the presence of Kurdish fighters on its border would be eliminated if the area was cleared of militants.
“When we go 30 km deep in the safe zone, terror there will be removed,” he said.
Cavusoglu also said Turkey had the right to use air space over Syria as part of its campaign.
“We have the right to use that air space,” he said. “That air space does not belong to the United States. It has no right to control that air space.”
Cavusoglu also warned on Thursday that Turkey would retaliate if the United States imposed sanctions over its military incursion into northeast Syria, which is targeting Kurdish fighters backed by Washington.
Ankara could face sanctions under proposals put forward by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and a Democrat colleague, which would target President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and top officials.
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