Turkey agreed with Russia to have an observation area on the northwestern part of Syria's Manbij to protect the area, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday.
"We have requested an area of 5X19 (km) on the northwest of Manbij to protect the area. We reached an agreement on this with Russia ... it is like an observation post," Erdoğan said in a statement.
"A no-fly zone is out of the question for Turkish presence in Syria. We will be at least 10 kilometers deep into Syria, which will facilitate our intervention against any possible (People's Protection Units) YPG terror acts," he said.
On Tuesday, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia on a 10-point plan to create a terror-free safe zone in northern Syria and they reiterated their commitment to the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria.
According to the agreement, PKK/YPG terrorists will pull back 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from Turkey's border within 150 hours and security forces from Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols there.
"US SHOULD HAND YPG/PKK RINGLEADER OVER TO TURKEY"
YPG/PKK terrorist ringleader Ferhat Abdi Şahin, codenamed Mazloum Kobani, is wanted by Interpol with a red notice, and the U.S. should hand him over to Ankara, Turkey's president said Thursday.
Speaking live on Turkey's state-run broadcaster TRT, Erdoğan said the country has been harassed by terrorists in northern Syria for eight years.
Erdoğan underlined that some NATO countries armed the YPG/PKK terror group, and that Germany, France and the U.S. met the leaders of the terrorist organization.
Reiterating that Turkey had no issues with Kurdish people, Erdoğan said: "Kurds are our brothers, we do not have problems with them, we fight only terrorists."
Erdoğan said the Operation Peace Spring was named so due to the existence of large numbers of springs to the east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.
He reiterated that the international community had been informed on Turkey's anti-terror operation east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.
"TURKEY METICULOUSLY TRACKING DAESH PRISONERS' WHEREABOUTS"
In regard to Daesh terrorists in Syria, Erdoğan said that Turkey is meticulously tracking their whereabouts and the prisons in Syria where they are held. "We will be actively pursuing criminal prosecution for them," he said.
Erdoğan also addressed the negative reaction of the the Arab League to Turkey's operation. "The Arab League's reaction to our Operation Peace Spring is strange, as they have kicked Syria out of the union. Turkey is actively helping Arabs in the region while they are attacking them with barrel bombs," he said.
"The Arab League has failed to address any issues of the Islamic world so far," he added.
On Oct. 9, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring 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.
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 the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.
