Turkey should ‘push all limits’ for peace in Syria

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - A lawmaker of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on Thursday said the country should push all limits for permanent peace in Syria.

Speaking to journalists in Turkish Parliament, Mevlut Durdu, CHP lawmaker from Turkey's southern Hatay province, said his party supported Turkish proposal to secure Syria's Afrin region.

Durdu said that Turkey should defeat the PKK/PYD terrorist group in Afrin, which is situated along the Turkish border.

"Afrin is very important for [security of Hatay province], so it is important for Turkey as well," he said.

In line with agreements reached at peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Turkish troops were tasked with monitoring a cease-fire and establishing a series of observation posts along the line between the Syrian areas of Idlib and Afrin.

Turkish troops were initially deployed near Afrin, which is currently being held by the PKK/PYD terrorist group.

Durdu called on Turkish government to make new international attempts beside Astana peace process.

Since the PKK launched its terror campaign in Turkey in 1984, some 40,000 people have been killed, including 1,200 since July 2015.