Akar: We’ll build joint permanent military bases with the Americans along the border of the safe area, and if America stalls will work alone
The Turkish-US plan to establish a “safe zone” in eastern Euphrates in northern Syria includes the establishment of joint fixed military bases with Washington along the border, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar revealed.
“We’ll build bases for patrols in the east of the Euphrates”, Akar said on Thursday in an interview with Turkish media.
“They’ll be common bases with the United States and we wanted them to be permanent”.
He added that the number of those bases “will be determined from the situation on the ground”, noting that the bases will be like those in northern Iraq, where the number exceeded 20 bases.
He continued: “If we’re going to do that and the terrorists will come out from there, it would be a big victory.
Will we stop then?
No, our goal is to create an area of 30-40 kilometers along the border to ensure the security of our country.
We’ll then repatriate Syrian nationals residing on its territory”.
Akar said Ankara would build the bases on its own if the United States stalled negotiations on the “safe zone”.
