In a statement released on Sunday, the US White House said, after a conversation between President Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that Turkey will move into northern Syria and will be responsible for all the Islamic State 'fighters' captured in the area, Reuters reported. US forces will not be involved in the operation. In essence, this could mean a US-sanctioned invasion by Turkey, according to international observers. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US, had earlier warned of a full-blown war if Turkey invades northern Syria, some portions of the territory which the latter occupies as a 'safe zone'. This announcement has thrown into uncertainty the fate of Kurdish warriors, allied with the SDF and the US, and largely viewed by Turkey as terrorists, fighting the Islamic State.
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Erdogan and Trump had earlier agreed during a phone call to meet in Washington to discuss creating a safe zone in northern Syria. Erdogan told Trump of his "frustration over the US military and security bureaucracy's failure to implement the deal" agreed in August to establish a buffer zone on the Turkish border.
It added that the visit would take place after an invitation from Trump. There had been expectations in Turkey of a Trump-Erdogan meeting on Syria last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, but it did not take place.
The Turkish leader had raised the temperature on Saturday by warning that Ankara could launch a cross-border offensive "as soon as today, tomorrow", putting pressure on the United States.
Turkey is hosting over 3.6 million Syrian refugees but there has been a growing public backlash in recent months against their presence in Turkey.
With some Western capitals concerned over any unilateral Turkish operation's impact on the fight against IS jihadists, Erdogan insisted Turkey would take the "necessary precautions" to ensure there was no extremist resurgence in the region.
-Inputs from PTI
