Commenting on the recent trilateral meeting between Russia, Turkey and Iran on the Syrian crisis and the resulting joint statement on reviving the political process to end the conflict, Turkish opposition politician Öztürk Yılmaz noted to Sputnik that it is the first time Turkey has openly voiced its readiness to work with President Assad.

Last week, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey discussed the situation in Syria, including Aleppo, in Moscow.

The top diplomats of the three countries then issued a joint statement to revive the political process to end the ongoing conflict in the war-torn country.

On Monday, during his visit to St. Petersburg, the Kazakh President stated that he will organize further negotiations on Syria between the three countries.

Commenting on the negotiations between Russia, Turkey and Iran, Turkish politician, Vice-chairman of the country's main opposition Republican People's Party Öztürk Yılmaz told Sputnik Turkiye that by joining Russia and Iran, Ankara has for the first time openly expressed its readiness to work with President Assad.

"The defeat of opposition in Aleppo and its retreat have largely changed the balance of power in Syria," he told Sputnik.

"Turkey's main Justice and Development Party (AKP) has demonstrated the failure of its Syrian policies which has considerably undermined its influence in the region. The next serious blow to its influence and image was the murder of the Russian ambassador in Ankara," he added.

As the result, the politician said, Ankara was forced to abandon its disastrous political line to alter the power in Syria, which it has been pursuing for the last 5-6 years.

He further explained that in the declaration which was signed in Moscow last week, the three countries stressed the need to secure the territorial integrity of Syria. And even though the Turkish authorities have repeatedly made it clear before, it was the first time when Turkey, through negotiations with Russia and Iran, has openly expressed its readiness to work with President Assad, which is one of the major achievements.

Öztürk Yılmaz also noted the change in the format of the negotiation process. Before, he said, it was led by the two co-chairmen of the International Syria Support Group, Russia and the US.

However, now the Obama administration has lost the initiative on the Syrian issue and it has fully come over to Russia.

The Turkish politician further explained that the US' top priority in Syria was the protectionist policy towards the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). Washington has been only been encouraging PYD forces to engage Daesh in order to try to legitimize the Syrian Kurds in the eyes of the international community while pursuing its own interests.

But Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has been advocating the need for negotiations with President Assad and to build-up the relationship with Damascus and those countries which support the territorial integrity of Syria instead of those who want to break up the country, from the very start of the Syrian conflict, he noted.

The trilateral agreements are a very important step towards the settlement of the Syrian conflict, he added.

Commenting on the announcement of the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Öztürk Yılmaz said that he hopes that the meeting in Astana will signify the next stage in the negotiation process.

The Syrian conflict has demonstrated that there is no military solution to the crisis, he said. Hence, he added, there is hope that there will be grounds for a political solution.

He pointed to the positive signs which are already visible: the territory occupied by Daesh is dwindling in size, the opposition is retreating while the territory under control of the government forces keeps expanding.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed! </s> The top diplomats of the three countries then issued a joint statement to revive the political process to end the ongoing conflict in the war-torn country.

On Monday, during his visit to St. Petersburg, the Kazakh President stated that he will organize further negotiations on Syria between the three countries.

Commenting on the negotiations between Russia, Turkey and Iran, Turkish politician, Vice-chairman of the country's main opposition Republican People's Party Öztürk Yılmaz told Sputnik Turkiye that by joining Russia and Iran, Ankara has for the first time openly expressed its readiness to work with President Assad.

"The defeat of opposition in Aleppo and its retreat have largely changed the balance of power in Syria," he told Sputnik.

As the result, the politician said, Ankara was forced to abandon its disastrous political line to alter the power in Syria, which it has been pursuing for the last 5-6 years.

He further explained that in the declaration which was signed in Moscow last week, the three countries stressed the need to secure the territorial integrity of Syria. And even though the Turkish authorities have repeatedly made it clear before, it was the first time when Turkey, through negotiations with Russia and Iran, has openly expressed its readiness to work with President Assad, which is one of the major achievements.

Öztürk Yılmaz also noted the change in the format of the negotiation process. Before, he said, it was led by the two co-chairmen of the International Syria Support Group, Russia and the US.

However, now the Obama administration has lost the initiative on the Syrian issue and it has fully come over to Russia.

But Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has been advocating the need for negotiations with President Assad and to build-up the relationship with Damascus and those countries which support the territorial integrity of Syria instead of those who want to break up the country, from the very start of the Syrian conflict, he noted.

The trilateral agreements are a very important step towards the settlement of the Syrian conflict, he added.

Commenting on the announcement of the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Öztürk Yılmaz said that he hopes that the meeting in Astana will signify the next stage in the negotiation process.

The Syrian conflict has demonstrated that there is no military solution to the crisis, he said. Hence, he added, there is hope that there will be grounds for a political solution.

He pointed to the positive signs which are already visible: the territory occupied by Daesh is dwindling in size, the opposition is retreating while the territory under control of the government forces keeps expanding.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed! </s> ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Saudi Arabia and Qatar should join its meeting with Russia and Iran to discuss Syrian peace efforts.

Russia, Turkey and Iran, which helped broker the withdrawal of civilians and militants from the Syrian city of Aleppo, have agreed to hold talks on Syria in Kazakhstan next month.

Erdogan said Tuesday the meeting of foreign ministers should include Saudi Arabia and Qatar, saying they had "shown goodwill and given support" to Syria.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the main backers of rebels seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is closely allied with Moscow and Tehran.

Erdogan added, however, that Turkey would not take part if any "terror organizations" are also invited, referring to Syrian Kurdish groups affiliated with Kurdish insurgents in Turkey. </s> BEIRUT/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey warned on Monday it would confront Syrian government forces if they entered Syria’s northwestern Afrin region to help the Kurdish YPG militia repel a Turkish offensive.

Turkey began its Afrin operation with allied Syrian rebels last month against the YPG, which Ankara sees as a threat along its border with links to the Kurdish PKK insurgency at home.

Ankara’s onslaught has further scrambled the matrix of rivalries and alliances in northern Syria among Kurdish forces, the Syrian government, insurgent factions, Turkey, Iran, the United States and Russia.

Monday’s comments by Turkey’s president and two of his ministers came after a senior Kurdish official said on Sunday that a deal had been struck for the Syrian army to go into Afrin soon to help fight the assault.

But YPG spokesman Nouri Mahmoud denied on Monday reaching such an agreement with the Damascus government.

Syrian state media said in the morning that pro-government militia would enter Afrin “within hours” but by sunset there were no signs of a deployment there. Turkey also said the report that Syrian troops were entering the region was “not true”.

“If (the Syrian army) comes in to defend the YPG, then nothing and nobody can stop Turkish soldiers,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in Jordan. Turkey would have no issue with Syrian troops entering Afrin if they did so to “cleanse” it of the Kurdish fighters, he added.

President Tayyip Erdogan later said in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Damascus would face consequences if it struck a deal with the YPG and said the Afrin operation would continue, CNN Turk reported. [L8N1Q93JQ]

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military or from Moscow.

Erdogan also spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about developments in Syria’s Idlib and Afrin, a Turkish source said.

Badran Jia Kurd, an adviser to the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in north Syria, said on Sunday there was a military understanding between Damascus and Kurdish forces for the Syrian army to enter Afrin. But he added that it faced opposition which could derail it.

Another Syrian Kurdish political official said on Monday that pressure from Russia, the key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, had prevented the deal from going ahead so far.

YPG spokesman Nouri Mahmoud said there was only ”a call from us for the Syrian army to come in and protect the borders.

“This is its duty,” he said. “So far, the Syrian army has not fulfilled its duty towards Afrin.”

Deals between the Syrian government and the Kurdish forces, which each hold more territory than any other side in Syria, could prove pivotal for the future course of the war.

Since the onset of Syria’s conflict in 2011, the YPG and its allies have set up three autonomous cantons in the north, including Afrin bordering Turkey. Their sphere of influence expanded as they seized territory from Islamic State militants with U.S. help, though Washington opposes their political ambitions as does the Syrian government.

While Assad’s government and the YPG espouse different visions for Syria’s future and their forces have clashed at times, they have mostly avoided direct conflict.

Jia Kurd told Reuters on Sunday that Syrian army troops would deploy along some border positions under the deal between the Kurdish fighters and Damascus. He said the deal was only on military aspects and any political or other agreements would have to wait for further talks.

“Popular forces will arrive in Afrin in the next few hours to support the steadfastness of its people in confronting the aggression,” Syrian state news agency SANA said earlier.

Ankara regards the YPG as indistinguishable from the PKK, though the groups say they are independent from each other. Turkey, the United States, and Europe classify the PKK, a leftist Kurdish movement that has mounted a three-decade insurgency inside Turkey, as a terrorist organisation.

The Afrin offensive has strained the complex ties between the warring sides in northern Syria and their external supporters.

Turkey’s NATO ally the United States has armed the YPG as part of an alliance it backs in Syria against Islamic State, which has infuriated Ankara.

But while Washington has a military presence in the much larger swathes of Syria that the YPG and its allies control further east, it has not given support to the YPG in Afrin.

This month, the United States said it had killed hundreds of pro-government troops in strikes in eastern Syria because they were attacking the militia alliance that the YPG spearheads. </s> Turkish, Russian and Iranian leaders in Ankara on Wednesday stated that they were committed to achieving a "lasting ceasefire" in Syria. A joint statement is issued by the leaders following the summit between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the press conference, Turkish President Erdoğan said that "as Turkey, we are fulfilling our responsibilities with regards to de-escalation zones in Syria. By erecting an eighth observation post in Idlib, I think we have shown our decisiveness. We want the whole world to take a note that territorial integrity of Syria depends on taking equal distance from all terror organizations."

Erdoğan noted that Turkey will work together with Russia and Iran to improve the living conditions of Syrians who have returned to the Tal Refaat. Erdoğan stated that Turkey would not stop till ensuring security in all regions under the control of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed forced People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey regards as the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has been fighting inside Turkey for more than 30 years. Erdoğan also responded to the U.S. claims that the fight against Syrian-Kurdish militia weakens the fight against Islamic State (Daesh).

“Our fight against PYD/YPG does not prevent or hinder the fight against Daesh, instead it complements it. Any approach that denies the fact that Daesh and PYD work for the same objectives cannot contribute to a sustainable peace to be established in Syria,” told Erdoğan.

Iranian President Rouhani began his speech by thanking President Erdoğan for his sincere hospitality then slammed the United States for wanting "terrorist organizations like Daesh to last a long time in our region as their tools so that they can use them." Rouhani stated that the peoples of Syria and Iraq had foiled this "big conspiracy" by the U.S.

Russian President Putin stated that the heads of the three countries discussed how to establish normalisation in Syria and that they are determined to protect Syria’s territorial integrity and independence.

“Our aim is to wipe out the terrorists totally. They are trying to prevent our efforts for peace. They attempt to stage provocations during which militants use hazardous chemicals, We have clear proofs of this,” said Putin.

The joint declaration said the leaders “reject all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism.”

It added that they “expressed their determination to stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the national security of neighboring countries.”

During the question and answer season, Iranian President Ruhani, when asked about what the Iranian and Turkish government would do about the sabotage they might face in Syria, said, "so far we have seen that that Americans and Israelis have been unsuccessful. They want terrorists to be in control. They were going after their own interests. Despite the fact they they [Americans and Israelis] created some problems for the Syrian people, we still cannot say they were successful."

Turkish President also responded to the same question and said Turkey cannot accept the division of the territory of Syria that some people might have planned.

Erdoğan and Rouhani also evaluated the U.S.’s plans to withdraw from Syria.

“Americans say a different thing everyday. We can trust neither the statements nor the promises of the recent American government,” Rouhani said. “They said they wanted to withdraw, but later it was understood that they were after money. They say to Arab countries ‘if you give us money, we will stay in Syria’”.

“My friend Rouhani does not say the amount of money. It is 7 trillion dollars. They say that this is the amount equal to their costs up to now, they say that this amount should be given to them,” added Erdoğan. </s> Russia says a solution to Syria's 5 1/2-year-long war may be getting closer after relations improved with Turkey, a major backer of rebel groups fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

"It's a very important moment," Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, said in an interview in Moscow Thursday. Turkey "is showing its interest in both the military and political sphere" in resolving the Syrian conflict and "when there's a constructive dialogue then of course it always helps the situation to develop in a positive way. It's a step in the right direction."

Russia welcomes contact between Turkey and Iran as a "constructive contribution" to resolving the Syrian crisis, Zakharova said. "If we communicate with Turkey and Iran, why shouldn't Turkey and Iran talk to each other? Many in Washington don't like it, but it's an important element" in diplomatic discussions, she said.

The thawing of relations between Russia and Turkey is taking place as the government in Ankara carries out its biggest military operation in Syria. Turkey is seeking to drive Islamic State militants away from its border and deter advances by Kurds allied with Turkish separatists. Jets pounded Islamic State positions and tanks crossed the border this week, allowing the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army to gain control of the strategic town of Jarablus, state-run Anadolu news service reported Wednesday.

A softening in Turkey's insistence on Assad's departure in any settlement of the war has narrowed differences with Russia, which has conducted air strikes in support of the Syrian leader since September.

Turkey has also reached out to Iran, Assad's other main supporter. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Ankara a few days after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg this month to repair relations that had been plunged into crisis when Turkey shot down a Russian military jet near the border with Syria in November.

Russia "sees potential for it and Turkey and Iran to reach a compromise," said Irina Zvagelskaya, a senior fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Oriental Studies. "For Turkey, the only red line is the Kurds."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will discuss efforts to coordinate actions against terrorists in Syria when they meet in Geneva on Friday, Zakharova said.

Russia and the U.S. have tried unsuccessfully so far to reach agreement on synchronizing air strikes against militants in Syria, a move that could revive efforts to end a war in which more than 280,000 people have been killed and millions more have fled to neighboring countries and Europe.

"If we consider the Syrian settlement to be important then this is key -- it's a cornerstone of what is happening there" because "we need to destroy the terrorists," Zakharova said before leaving with Lavrov for Geneva. The U.S. targets "terrorists where there are no opposition members shielding them. Where they are being shielded under Washington's direction we have a problem."

A "terrorist center remains" in these areas of Syria and "no one can deal with it because so-called moderate opposition groups are there," Zakharova said.

The Turkish offensive aims to push Islamic State deeper into Syria and create a buffer zone against the Syrian Kurds if they attempt to move northward toward the border. It has produced a rare degree of unity between the U.S., Russia and Turkey, with a Russian Foreign Ministry official calling the action "timely," while the U.S. extended its cooperation.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds have been seeking to link enclaves they control by seizing major villages and towns from Islamic State along the border with Turkey. That alarmed Ankara, which fears the campaign will encourage restive Kurds in its east.

Russia may have agreed not to object to a limited Turkish incursion into Syria in return for Turkey being more cooperative on a political settlement with Assad, according to Dmitri Trenin, head of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said last week that a transition with Assad still in power is possible and he called the confrontation over the downed Russian warplane an "unnecessary crisis." Yildirim on Wednesday said Turkey will increase cooperation with Iran on Syria and fighting Turkish separatist Kurds.

Demands for Assad to step down are unacceptable and "there can't be any preconditions in fighting against terrorism," Zakharova said. The presidency "is an important key to maintaining a strong fight against terrorists on the ground" in Syria, she said. </s> HASSA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on the Syrian conflict (all times local):

Media reports say police in Turkey have broken up demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Kurds in Turkey not to take to the streets to protest Turkey's military operation against a Kurdish-run enclave in Syria.

The Dogan news agency said police detained 12 demonstrators in Istanbul who were protesting the offensive. It said police used tear gas to disperse a separate protest in the capital Ankara. It did not provide further details on the Ankara protests.

Erdogan earlier warned that those who heed calls by Kurdish politicians to protest would "pay a high price."

Syria's President Bashar Assad says Turkey's "brutal aggression" against a Syrian Kurdish enclave is part and parcel of Ankara's support of "terrorists."

Assad's comments came during his meeting Sunday with the visiting head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi. Assad said Turkey has always supported "terrorists" in Syria and its attack on Afrin can't be separated from this policy.

Syria had warned it would shoot down any Turkish fighter jets that Afrin, calling it an "aggressive act." Turkey started bombing Afrin Saturday. There was no response from the Syrian government.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has criticized France over its decision to call for a U.N. security council meeting over the situation in Syria, following Turkey's offensive into a Syrian Kurdish-run enclave.

Cavusoglu told reporters in Baghdad on Sunday that Turkey expected France to stand by an ally country and not with a "terror organization."

Cavusoglu said if France does "not act like ally... then it would be treated as a country that sides with terrorists." Turkey considers Syrian Kurdish militia group that controls the enclave of Afrin to be terrorists because of their affiliation with Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey.

The minister's comments were televised live on Turkish television.

Earlier, France in a statement urged Turkish authorities "to act with restraint in a context where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in several regions of Syria."

An official says a second border town has come under rocket attack from across the Syrian border. At least one person was killed and dozens of others were wounded.

Huseyin Sanverdi, the mayor for the town of Reyhanli, told NTV television that three rockets hit his town some 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) from the Syrian Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin where Turkey's military is conducting an offensive.

Anadolu Agency said the attack caused extensive destruction in the town, damaging buildings and cars.

Earlier, the rockets fired from Syria targeted the border town of Kilis, but there were no casualties. Turkish artillery units retaliated to the attack.

Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that the country's Foreign Ministry has condemned the Turkish assault on the Syrian city of Afrin and expressed its concerns over this operation.

The Sunday report by IRNA quotes the ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying Iran is concerned about ongoing developments in the city of Afrin and following them closely.

Ghasemi called on Turkey to end this offensive operation immediately. "The continuing crisis in Afarin may boost terrorist groups again in the northern parts of Syria."

Ghasemi the international community, especially Syria's neighboring countries, to continue their efforts to reach a peaceful and political settlement.

Turkey's state-run news agency, Anadolu, said Turkey's chief of staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, discussed the operation with his Iranian counterpart in a telephone conversation on Sunday.

Egypt has condemned Turkey's military offensive in a Syrian Turkish enclave, describing it as a breach of Syria's sovereignty.

In a Sunday statement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry warned that the ongoing operation by Turkish troops and Syrian opposition in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin threatens political negotiations. The Turkish operation is aimed at driving a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia from the region.

The ministry described the assault as "a new violation of Syria's sovereignty."

Egypt has maintained security coordination with Syria during the latter's civil war. Egypt is also at odds with Turkey accusing it of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed in Egypt, to which deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi belongs.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Kurds in Turkey not to take to the streets and protest the Turkish military's operations against a Kurdish-run enclave in Syria.

Erdogan said Sunday those who heed calls by a Kurdish party for protests will "pay a high price."

He said: "This is a national struggle. We will crush anyone who opposes our national struggle."

Erdogan was addressing a congress of the women's branch of his ruling party in the northwestern city of Bursa, a day after Turkey launched an air and ground offensive in the northwestern Syrian enclave of Afrin to clear it of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Erdogan said Afrin was a predominantly Arab area and that Turkey was determined to return it to its rightful owners.

The Turkish leader also wowed to defeat the Syrian Kurdish group, warning them not to rely on weapons supplied by the United States.

The French foreign ministry said France is calling for a U.N. security council emergency meeting over the deteriorating situation in Syria.

France's call comes Sunday after Turkish troops and Syrian opposition forces attacked a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria in their bid to drive a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia from the area.

The ministry said in a written statement that French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, by phone Sunday.

France urged Turkish authorities "to act with restraint in a context where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in several regions of Syria," the statement said.

France also condemned the "indiscriminate bombings" targeting inhabited areas and medical centers led by the Syrian regime in the northwestern province of Idlib in recent weeks.

Syria's military says its capture of a key air base in the country's northwest is an "achievement" that secures roads between the northern provinces.

Army spokesman Gen. Ali Mayhoub said in a televised statement on Sunday that the capture of the Abu Zuhour air base in Idlib province was "a blow" to the insurgents who had controlled the base since 2015. Mayhoub called it the second largest military base in northern Syria and said it was being cleared of booby traps and land mines. He said its capture secures the roads between the Hama, Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian government forces and allied militias were also working to secure the air base. Mayhoub said the government offensive has also captured 300 villages in rural Idlib, Hama and Aleppo.

The offensive on Idlib — the largest rebel stronghold remaining in Syria — started last month and has displaced more than 212,000 civilians.

It's a separate offensive from the Turkish-led military operation in a Kurdish-run enclave in neighboring Aleppo province.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes Turkey will conclude its operation in a Syrian Kurdish enclave in a short period of time.

Addressing crowds in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa on Sunday, Erdogan said Turkey was determined to clear the enclave of Afrin of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey considers to be terrorists, saying: "there is no stepping back."

"We are not alone... Allah is with us," Erdogan said: "Got willing, this operation will come to an end in a short time."

Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run news agency said Turkish prosecutors had launched investigations into several social media users suspected of engaging in Kurdish rebel "propaganda" through postings criticizing the Turkish operation in Afrin.

A Kurdish militia and a Syrian war monitoring group have denied reports that Turkish troops have entered a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Kurdish militia and Turkish forces have clashed on the northern and western edges of Afrin, but that Turkish troops have failed to advance.

Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which is dominated by the Kurdish militia, said attempts to infiltrate Afrin have been repelled since Saturday. He said Turkish aircraft have continued to strike Afrin.

The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Bali said the SDF, which is the main U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, has reinforced YPG ranks in order to defend Afrin.

Syrian opposition fighters are battling alongside the Turkish troops in the latest front to open in the war in Syria.

Turkey's state-run news agency says Turkish ground troops have entered a Kurdish-held enclave in northern Syria and are advancing with Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces.

Anadolu Agency said the troops pushed into Afrin on Sunday, a day after Turkish jets pounded Syrian Kurdish targets in the region.

The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Turkey considers the YPG a terror organization because of its affiliation to Kurdish rebels fighting in southeastern Turkey, and had been threatening to attack Afrin for weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to expand the operation to other Kurdish regions.

The YPG is a key U.S. ally in the war against the Islamic State group.

A Turkish official says suspected Syrian Kurdish fighters have fired rockets from across the border, slightly wounding one person.

Gov. Mehmet Tekinarslan says four rockets struck the town of Kilis early Sunday, hitting two houses and an office. He says Turkish artillery returned fire. The attack came as dozens of Turkish jets pounded the Kurdish-run enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Afrin is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey views as part of the Kurdish insurgency in its southeast. The militia forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main U.S. ally against the Islamic State group in Syria.

The state-run Anadolu Agency says Turkey-backed Syrian forces have penetrated the enclave and are advancing.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> ANKARA (Sputnik) — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed the ongoing Syrian crisis talks in Kazakhstan with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by phone, a Turkish diplomatic source told Sputnik.

"Our minister held phone talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today. The sides exchanged views on the negotiations in Astana. The conversation took place at Russia's request," the diplomatic source said Tuesday. </s> NEW YORK, Sept 26 — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a Turkish court, not politicians, will decide the fate of an American pastor Andrew Brunson whose detention on terrorism charges has roiled relations between Ankara and Washington.

In an interview yesterday while he was in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly, Erdogan said Turkey will continue to purchase Iran’s natural gas, despite US sanctions on Tehran.

Erdogan said it was impossible for Syrian peace efforts to continue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power, adding that the withdrawal of “radical groups” had already started from a new demilitarized zone in Syria’s Idlib region.

Erdogan also said the decision of Turkey’s central bank to raise its benchmark rate was a clear sign of its independence, adding that as president he was against increasing the rates. — Reuters
CHP MP Öztürk Yılmaz says Turkey has expressed its readiness to work with president Assad of Syria.