Turkey will stay in Syria until war-torn country holds elections, Erdogan says
Turkey will not withdraw its presence from regions in northern Syria until the country holds elections, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.
"We will leave Syria to its owners after they hold their elections," Erdogan said at a forum in Istanbul.
Turkey has a military presence in the northwestern Afrin region and further east, around Jarablus, near the Turkish border.
Erdogan also said on Thursday that Turkey is not having any difficulty talking with radical groups in Idlib, the last major rebel-controlled enclave outside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s control.
Last month, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to set up a demilitarised zone between rebel and government fighters in northern Syria.
Groups designated as "radical" are expected to withdraw from the zone - which measures between 15 and 20 kilometres - by Oct. 15.
On Thursday, Erdogan said that Turkey maintains 12 observation points in the area, while Russia has 10 and Iran has six.
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