UPDATE - Turkish-Armenian Patriarchate prays for Turkish army

UPDATES WITH PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN'S STATEMENT

By Mehmet Ali Derdiyok

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Turkish-Armenian Patriarchate on Monday expressed support for Turkey's counterterrorist operation in Syria’s Afrin region.

“We wish the Turkish Armed Forces success in Operation Olive Branch,” the Istanbul-based Patriarchate said in a written statement.

“We pray for the end of terrorist activities and the establishment of peace and common sense in the region,” the statement added.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin later thanked the Turkish-Armenian Patriarchate for its support.

"The community foundations, the Turkish-Armenian Patriarchate and the Turkish Jewish Community are standing by our army. We thank all of them," Kalin said on his Twitter account.

Kalin also said unity was "Turkey's biggest strength".

Turkey on Saturday launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Syria's Afrin, in the north.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as to protect the Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.

Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012 when the Bashar al-Assad regime left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.