Erdogan slams European Parliament for calling on Turkey to withdraw from Afrin

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the European Parliament’s draft motion calling on Turkey to withdraw from Syria’s Kurdish canton of Afrin in the north on border with Turkey.

“Don’t get your hopes up. We will only leave Afrin once our work is done,” Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara on March 15, Hurriyet daily reported.

The European Parliament has drafted a joint motion calling on the Turkish government to “withdraw its troops and play a constructive role in resolving the Syrian conflict.”

The motion, which will be decided by a vote on March 15, states that the European Parliament is “seriously worried about the escalating situation in Afrin,” the YPG controlled area in northwest Syria against which Turkey launched a military operation with fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on Jan. 20.

Turkey launched “Operation Olive Branch” to clear Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants from Afrin.

Reporter’s code: 50101

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