Turkey aims to set up the safe zone in northeastern Syria as soon as possible to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees with the support of international actors while it respects and upholds the territorial integrity of the country, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, Daily Sabah reports.
The president addressed reporters on his way back from Sochi after Turkey and Russia reached a groundbreaking deal to establish a safe zone in northern Syria. Under the scope of the deal, PKK terror group's Syrian branch, the People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists, will retreat 30 kilometers within 150 hours starting at 12 noon on Oct. 23, followed by Turkish-Russian joint patrols in the area 10 kilometers into Syrian territory.
"Around 1 million people can be resettled in the area that will be made a 'safe zone' under the scope of Operation Peace Spring," President Erdoğan said, adding that the number can reach 2 million with the inclusion of Raqqa and Deir el-Zour provinces.
However, the president noted that this is not something that Turkey can handle alone and the country needs international support.
