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Terrorists will seize northern Syria if Turkish troops leave, Ankara says

Turkey plans to resettle refugees in northern Syria where it has carried out three large-scale military operations against the Islamic State and Kurdish forces, including the People's Protection Units, which Ankara deems a terrorist organization

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome

© AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. Ankara is concerned that if Damascus makes agreements with terrorist organizations, refugees will be afraid to return to their homes, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome on Friday.

"We remain fully committed to Syria’s territorial integrity. But if we leave [the country’s north], terrorists from the Islamic State [a terror group outlawed in Russia - TASS], the People's Protection Units and the Kurdistan Workers Party will enter the area," he pointed out.

According to him, if control over Syria’s northern territories is passed to the Assad government before a political solution is found, Damascus could make agreements "with these terrorist organizations in order to achieve its own goals." "Besides, if the regime enters the area, refugees won’t be able to return there. They will be afraid," Cavusoglu said.

Turkey plans to resettle refugees in northern Syria where it has carried out three large-scale military operations against the Islamic State and Kurdish forces, including the People's Protection Units, which Ankara deems a terrorist organization. Turkish troops currently control some areas in northern Syria.

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