TRT World Research Centre held a joint panel in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Military Institute and the NATO Association of Canada in Toronto, Canada to discuss Turkey’s recent military operation in Syria, Operation Olive Branch.
-Talip Küçükcan, Professor and Member of Parliament of the Republic of Turkey
-Resul Serdar Ataş, Director of News and Programmes at TRT El Arabia
-Kılıç Buğra Kanat, Associate Professor at Penn State University and Research Director at SETA
TRT World Research Centre held a joint panel in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Military Institute and the NATO Association of Canada in Toronto, Canada to discuss Turkey’s recent military operation in Syria, Operation Olive Branch.
On 20th January 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the start of Turkey’s military operation in Afrin, called “Operation Olive Branch”. He stated that Turkey will conduct the operation with the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The Turkish Armed Forces laid out the objective and scope of the operation in a statement. According to this statement, the operation is aimed at neutralizing PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh terrorists in the Afrin region in order to provide security and stability across Turkey’s border and in the region. Additionally, it aims to save the people of the region from the oppression and persecution.
Prior to Afrin Operation, in August 2016, Turkey launched its first military involvement in Syria with Operation Euphrates Shield on its southern border, namely in the cities of Jarablus, Azaz and al-Bab. In October 2017, Turkey sent military troops to Idlib province in order to protect the de-escalation zones agreed upon in Astana. Operation Olive Branch will undoubtedly have crucial implications not only for the future of Syria but also for Ankara’s relations with Washington and Moscow.
This panel aimed to shed light on the operation’s security and political implications regarding the future of Syria, Turkey and international powers.
