Turkey will not seek permission for Syria operation, Erdoğan aide says

Turkey will not seek permission to carry out any operation in Syria, although it is willing to coordinate with allies, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's spokesman said on Tuesday.

Ibrahim Kalın made the comment at a news conference after he met U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton. Earlier Erdoğan rebuked Bolton for demanding that Turkey does not harm YPG/PKK terrorists in Syria.
A planned withdrawal of US troops from Syria should not "create new opportunities for terrorist organizations," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman and security adviser has warned.

Turkey urged the United States to take back all the weapons provided to Syrian Kurdish militia forces in the fight against the Daesh terror group, Kalın said.

"We expect that all the weapons that were given out will be seized," Kalın told journalists in Ankara.
"No one should expect Turkey to give a guarantee to a terrorist group, to justify and legitimize it," Kalin said of Bolton's earlier remarks that Ankara should avoid a military operation against the YPG/PKK.
"We should not give space to terror groups including PYD/YPG, others during US withdrawal process in Syria," Kalın concluded.

On Sunday, Bolton had said the U.S. will not withdraw troops from northeastern Syria until the Turkish government guarantees the fight against Daesh and that it won't attack "Kurdish fighters," referring to the YPG/PKK terrorist group.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump made the unexpected decision to withdraw 2,000 American troops from Syria, sparking criticism from many allies and security aides, including his own Cabinet.

Turkey has repeatedly objected to U.S. support for the PYD/YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization, as a "reliable ally" in Syria, which has included supplying arms and equipment.