Turkey will not stay in Syria's Afrin and aims to leave the region to its real owners after the area is completely cleared of terrorists, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said.
"As we said, we will not permanently stay there, nor are we occupiers," Bozdag said, adding that the goal of Operation Olive Branch is to restore peace, security and stability to the region and leave it to its "real owners."
The minister said that the region needs to be cleared of mines, explosives and weapons, and this will take some time, Daily Sabah reported.
He noted that additional steps are necessary to normalize the situation in the town to allow people to return to their daily lives.
Bozdağ also highlighted that a major portion of the weapons and ammunition given to YPG terrorists have been confiscated in Afrin, which will significantly decrease the threats on Turkey's borders.
