MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Turkey’s Euphrates Shield operation in northern Syria aims to rid the region of the Daesh terrorist group and will continue, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.
"The Euphrates Shield operation aims to ensure the security of the region for refugees and ridding it of Daesh … Our operation will continue," Cavusoglu said.
He added that the operation was ongoing at the moment in the vicinity of Al Bab, which was one of the settlements controlled by jihadists.
"After the end of the operation there, it will be useful to leave the region to the residents of this town," Cavusoglu said.
He added that Turkey supported Syria's territorial integrity and national unity.
The ceasefire in Syria will not apply to terrorist groups like Daesh and al-Nusra Front, he added after talks with Russian and Iranian foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Mohammad Javad Zarif, respectively.
"Today we speak of the ceasefire and we say that the ceasefire should be extended to the whole of Syria, but we do not think that this regime will be applied to terrorist groups such as al-Nusra Front and Daesh," Cavusoglu said.
On August 24, Turkish forces, backed by US-led coalition aircraft, began a military operation dubbed the Euphrates Shield to clear the Syrian border town of Jarablus and the surrounding area of the Daesh terrorist organization. As Jarablus was recaptured, the joint forces of Ankara, the coalition and Syrian opposition groups continued the offensive southwest. Syrian authorities have denounced Turkey's involvement as an invasion.