BEIRUT, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri discussed Monday Turkey's recently offensive on Syria's Afrin region with Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Cagatay Erciyes.
Erciyes visited Hariri to brief him on the Turkish offensive, code-named "Operation Olive Branch" which was launched Saturday against Kurdish militias in Syria's northern Kurdish enclave of Afrin, a statement by the Premier's media office said.
The offensive is intended to target the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey considers to be a terrorist entity.
"This operation is aimed at securing the Turkish borders, and preserving Turkey's national security within the framework of self-defense," Erciyes was quoted as saying.
He reiterated Turkey's "firm commitment" to work for the stability, security and prosperity of Lebanon and expressed his country's readiness to further enhance relations between the two countries, the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, around 1,000 Lebanese Kurds held a demonstration Monday near the Russian Embassy in Beirut to protest the incursion of Turkish troops into Syria's Kurdish-held Afrin region.
