Turkey, in response to threats from US President Donald Trump, should close Incirlik airbase to the US military, leader of the Turkish Vatan party Dogu Perincek stated on Wednesday.
Trump earlier in his Twitter threatened to “destroy the Turkish economy” if Ankara, in his opinion, “crosses the boundaries” of what is permitted.
“The best answer Turkey can give in response to American threats is to start cooperation with Damascus and urgently close the Incirlik base for the United States. The United States will introduce itself as enemies towards our country, and voices have already begun to sound about Turkey’s expulsion from NATO”, – said the interlocutor of the agency.
According to him, the United States delivered 30 thousand trucks with weapons prohibited in the Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey.
“This opened a real front against Turkey, which once again shows: the US sees Turkey as an enemy”, – Perincek added.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on October 5 that a decision on a Turkish operation in northern Syria east of the Euphrates could be made in the coming days. The next day, Washington announced that the US military would not participate in Turkey’s military operation and would leave the area. The Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on October 7 announced that US forces had withdrawn from the border with Turkey in northern Syria, violating the agreements reached with Kurdish allies. Later in Washington, it was announced that the United States did not withdraw all troops from Syria, but displaced those in the north, with only 50 military men involved.
The main goals of the Turkish operation, which Ankara has been planning since spring, are declared to clear the Syrian border with Turkey of the Syrian Kurds’ self-defense forces, create a security zone there and place Syrian refugees in Turkey. Ankara previously stated that it has 4 million refugees and cannot endlessly support them. Official Damascus does not recognize the autonomous administration in northeast Syria, which controls the territories east of the Euphrates River, and their military wing is SDF. Damascus held several futile rounds of negotiations with the autonomous Kurdish administration. At the same time, the Syrian authorities have repeatedly condemned the occupation policy of Turkey in northern Syria.