Turkey will start an operation east of the Euphrates river in northern Syria in a "few days" President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday, a move that could further complicate relations with the United States.
"We will start the operation to clear the East of the Euphrates from separatist terrorists in a few days. Our target is never U.S. soldiers," Erdoğan said in a speech.
The YPG is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.