ANKARA, January 20. /TASS/. Ankara informs Damascus in the written form of the operation in Afrin where Turkey mounted an offensive on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

"We are notifying Damascus of our operation in the written form," he was quoted as saying by the Turkish daily Yeni Safak. "Also, we provide the United Nations with comprehensive information. In the talk with [US State Secretary Rex] Tillerson, I said that the United States should side with us."

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Moscow was concerned about the beginning of Turkey’s offensive in Afrin and urged the warring sides to exercise restraint.

On Saturday, Turkey’s General Staff declared the launch of Operation Olive Branch against Kurdish units from Self-Defense Forces and Democratic Union Party in Afrin, home to 1.5 million Syrian Kurds. Ankara says that these two groups are affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) recognized as terrorist in Turkey.

The CNN Turk reported earlier that eight Turkish fighter jets F-16 took off from the Diyarbak·r air base to bomb Kurds’ position.