Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

Turkey does not want the clash of interests of Russia and the United States in Syria, said Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik, Anadolu Agency reported on October 4.

The minister stated that, in the case of sharp clashes of interests of the U.S. and Russia on the Syrian issue, Turkey is determined to protect its own interests.

Recently, the U.S. State Department announced that the United States has suspended “bilateral channel" with Russia created to maintain the cease-fire in Syria.

In response to Washington's decision to end bilateral contact with Moscow over Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the U.S. of attempting to shift its own responsibility.

On August 24 morning, the Turkish Air Force with the support of the coalition aircraft launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo city.

The operation was carried out under the name “Shield of the Euphrates.” Jarabulus is located 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Turkish-Syrian border.

Ankara announced that this operation will continue until the PYD militants are completely liquidated.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The “Islamic State” (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh), the YPG and the PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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