Turkey Not to Send Ground Troops into Syria
Local Editor
Turkey will not send ground troops into neighboring Syria as it has been bombing the "ISIL" positions, a campaign that could "change the balance" in the region, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying on Monday.
"We will not send ground forces," Davutoglu told a group of Turkish newspaper editors according to the Hurriyet daily.
"We do not want to see Daesh ["ISIL"] on our border," Davutoglu said, the Hurriyet daily quoted him as saying.
Turkey has launched a two-pronged cross-border offensive against militants and Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK] militants after a wave of violence in the country, pounding their positions with air strikes and artillery.
The Turkish military on Sunday launched new strikes on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq as Ankara called a meeting of the NATO military alliance over its campaign against the PKK and "ISIL".
In this context, Davutoglu said Turkish strikes against "ISIL" and PKK militants in Iraq and Syria would "change the balance" in the region.
Turkey has given a green-light to the United States on the use of a key air base near Syria for bombings.
The landmark deal to use Incirlik air base in southern Turkey comes after months of tough negotiations between Turkish and US officials.
Davutoglu declined to provide details of the agreement but said the concerns of Ankara, which had been pressing for a no-fly zone, were addressed "to a certain extent."
"If we will not send ground forces -- and that we will not do -- then certain elements that cooperate with us on the ground must be protected."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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