Bashar al-Assad says Syria will confront Turkey with legitimate means

The President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, while replying to the Turkish offensive launched in northeastern Syria, said on October 17 that the Syrian forces will counter the operation by 'all legitimate means'. The Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan launched 'Operation Spring of Peace' along the Syrian border to create a safe zone on October 9. The first time since the military invasion by Turkey, the Syrian President said “will respond and confront it in all forms” while using all the means at their disposal. 

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Syrian forces blocked Turkish plans

On October 17 night, the Syrian forces entered strategically into the border town of Kobani and blocked one path for the Turkish military to establish the 'safe zone' which is free of Kurdish forces backed by Syria along the frontier as a response to Turkish offensive since last week. The seizure of forces loyal to President Assad also created a dramatic shift in northeastern Syria where earlier the troops from the United States were retracted recently after being united the first time to defeat the Islamic State group four years ago. The President of the US, Donald Trump had ordered the American troops to return back home after being guarding the borders between Syria and Turkey for years. 

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Cannot declare ceasefire: Turkey

The US and China have also condemned the Turkish military operation in Syria. The US has also threatened to impose sanctions on the government as well as the people who are involved in 'Operation Spring of Peace'. President Erdogan had replied saying that they do not care about sanctions and their goal is clear to eradicate all “terrorist forces”. Furthermore, since President Trump had used Twitter to release an official statement regarding his opinion about the Turkish offensive, President Erdogan said that he “can't keep a track of Trump's tweets”. Moreover, China also believes that Turkey should cease its operation and shift to diplomatic talks with Syria in order to resolve the issues. 

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(With inputs from agencies)