Emmanuel Macron branded ‘crooked’ as he demands Turkey ends military offensive in Syria

Turkey launched the air and ground military campaign last week, targeting the YPG and adding fuel to Syria’s already raging fire. 

While Turkey considers the YPG to be a “terrorist” group, the militia is backed by the US, with its fighters joining forces with international coalition troops to push Islamic State (ISIS) out of its Syrian strongholds. 

Mr Macron, speaking as Mr Erdogan was poised to arrive in Italy, said: “If it turns out that [the Turkish operation in Syria] takes a turn other than to fight a potential terrorist threat to the Turkish border and is in fact an invasion operation, then this would pose a real problem for France.” 

The military operation, dubbed Olive Branch, “does not respect Syrian sovereignty”, Mr Macron warned, before urging Ankara to coordinate its actions with Europe and its allies. 

Mr Macron added: “The military offensive in Afrin is something Turkey needs to discuss with Europe, but more importantly with its allies, which is why I will be speaking to Mr Erdogan again in the coming days. 

“I hope to convince the Turks and the Russians that we can achieve an inclusive political solution to the crisis, because only then will the Syrian opposition agree to join peace talks… And the Russians must convince the Syrian regime to join.” 

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim reiterated his government’s claim the military operation was solely aimed securing Turkey’s shared border with Syria, and protecting Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens from “terrorist organisations”. 

Mr Yildrim also slammed Mr Macron for implying the operation was a covert invasion. 

Mr Yildrim said at a joint press conference alongside Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in Ankara: “If France is interpreting this issue as such [an invasion operation], we need to assess what they have done in Syria accordingly.

“This is a crooked idea from the start. The whole world knows Turkey is not acting with an invasive mind. They should know it.”