ANKARA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Turkey warned Syrian government on Monday over sending troops into Afrin to back the Kurdish militia, a senior Turkish official said.
Any decisions by Syrian government to send forces into Afrin would give a green light to dividing Syria, and would cause disastrous consequences in the region, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag told reporters following the cabinet meeting in Ankara.
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusolgu also warn Syrian government, saying if the Syrian army comes in to defend the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG), then "nothing and nobody can stop Turkish soldiers."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also held two separate phone calls with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to warn against such a move.
The YPG is regarded by Ankara as the Syrian affiliate of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a terrorist organization listed by Turkey. However, the United States has supported the YPG as its ally in combating Islamic State in Syria.
Turkey launched military operation on Jan. 20 in Syria's Afrin to oust the YPG militia. It also vowed to expand its operation to Manbij where U.S. troops are deployed with YPG to fight the IS.
