Turkey threatens new Syria operations; directs US, Russia to 'fulfill agreement'

Turkey's foreign minister said Ankara would launch a new military operation in northeast Syria if the area was not cleared of what he called terrorists, state-owned Anadolu agency reported on Monday.

Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying that United States and Russia had not done what was required under agreements that halted a Turkish offensive against the Kurdish YPG militia in northeastern Syria last month.

"Have they completely fulfilled what is required of the agreements? No they have not, but they should do so," Mevlut Cavusoglu said, quoted by state news agency Anadolu.

The deals stipulated that the YPG would be removed from a swathe of land bordering Turkey in northeastern Syria.

Cavusoglu called on Washington and Moscow on Monday to do what is necessary under the deals.

"If we do not obtain a result, we will do what is necessary, just as we launched the operation after trying with the US," Cavusoglu was quoted as saying, referring to work with Washington to remove the YPG from the area before Turkey launched its cross-border incursion on October 9.

Ankara views the YPG, the main component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that helped the United States defeat Islamic State, as a terrorist group with links to Kurdish militants on Turkish soil.

Turkey's latest offensive was widely condemned by Ankara's Western allies, who said the assault could hinder the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria. Turkey has dismissed the concerns, saying it will continue to combat Islamic State.

Despite amicable relations between the presidents of the two countries, the U.S. Congress has passed a resolution calling on President Donald Trump to impose sanctions against Ankara, a NATO ally, over the offensive.

The Republican chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said last week he did not want lawmakers to pass legislation imposing sanctions on Turkey for now. He cited a need to lessen friction during talks over Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400s missile defense system, another point of disagreement between the allies.