UPDATE - New op in Syria not necessary: Turkish Defense Ministry

ADDS MORE DETAILS FROM STATEMENT, BACKGROUND

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey said early Wednesday there is no need at this stage for it to carry out a new operation in northern Syria outside of its current operation area.

"Turkey will never allow a terrorist corridor to be formed south of its borders, and our fight against terrorism will continue with determination," the Defense Ministry said in a written statement.

It was referring to Operation Peace Spring, which was launched on Oct. 9 to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey's borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria's territorial integrity.

The statement underlined that at the end of a 120-hour pause, the U.S. reported that the withdrawal of the PKK/YPG terror group from a designated safe zone region was completed.

On Oct. 17, a U.S. delegation led by Vice President Mike Pence paid a working visit to the Turkish capital, Ankara, where they met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and discussed Turkey's anti-terror operation.

Following the meeting, the two sides reached a 13-point agreement on northeastern Syria. As part of the deal, Turkey paused its anti-terror push east of the Euphrates for 120 hours to allow the withdrawal of the terrorist PKK and its Syrian offshoot the YPG/PKK from the planned safe zone. The pause ended Tuesday night.

Ankara and the U.S. agreed on a 32-kilometer (20-mile) safe zone south of the Turkish border in Syria, where Turkey wants to accommodate Syrian refugees it is currently hosting.

It also stressed that within the scope of an agreement reached Tuesday between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russia's coastal city of Sochi, joint work with Russia will begin as of tomorrow.

On Tuesday, Turkey and Russia reached a 10-point agreement on Syria during a "historic" meeting between the two presidents just hours before the pause was set to expire.

According to the deal, starting at 12 noon (0900GMT) on Oct. 23, Russian military police and Syrian border guards will enter the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border outside the area of Operation Peace Spring to facilitate the removal of YPG/PKK elements and their weapons 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Turkey’s border in northern Syria, which should be finalized in 150 hours.

"Thus, by establishing a peace corridor in the region, it will be ensured that our displaced Syrian brothers and sisters voluntarily and safely return to their homes and lands," the statement concluded.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union -- has been responsible for deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.