Ankara Not Planning Ground Troop Operations in Syria

Sputnik News

13:15 26.02.2016(updated 15:53 26.02.2016)

Turkish Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that the situation in Syria is not acute enough to demand the deployment of a ground operation with troops from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or the United States, but "the air operations over the last year and a half have not delivered any great result."

ANKARA (Sputnik) – Ankara has no plans of holding ground operations in Syria on its own initiative, Turkish Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Friday.

"We have said this before and I will repeat it again, that we're not talking about our preparation to a ground operation [in Syria]. We are in favor of working together with the members of the international coalition, therefore a ground operation unilaterally from our side or together with Saudi Arabia is not being discussed," Kalin told journalists.

He said that the situation in Syria is not acute enough to demand the deployment of a ground operation with troops from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or the United States, but "the air operations over the last year and a half have not delivered any great result."

Earlier it was reported that Saudi Arabia was ready to send its special forces as part of US-led coalition.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the army loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting several opposition factions and militant organizations, including Daesh terrorist group, which is banned in a number of countries, including Russia and the United States.

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