The bombardment of Deir ez-Zor by Russia and the United States will pave the way for Turkey to enter al-Bab, retired Lt. Gen. İsmail Hakkı Pekin, who served as the head of Intelligence Department at Turkish Armed Forces General Staff, told APA on Tuesday.
Asked to comment on the joint Turkish-Russian airstrikes that targeted ISIL in al-Bab on Jan. 18 and the subsequent Russian air raids in Deir ez-Zor on Jan. 23, which were welcomed by the US and some NATO members in Europe, the retired general replied:
“It’s normal that Russia and Turkey are carrying out joint airstrikes against ISIL in al-Bab. However, it was quite surprising that the US also voiced support for the Russian bombardment of Deir ez-Zor. This has to be assessed positively. The US should not say to Turkey ‘we support your efforts to clear al-Bab of ISIL, but do not return to Manbij from there,’ nor should Turkey agree to a secret deal like this.”
Gen. Pekin continued: Deir ez-Zor is of a lot more importance. The bombardment of Deir ez-Zor by Russia and the US will pave the way for Turkey to enter al-Bab, because ISIL will then have to transport a significant portion of its military force from al-Bab to Deir ez-Zor and Turkey’s capture of al-Bab will have removed a major obstacle from the way to Raqqa, ISIL’s ‘capital’ in Syria. Overall, I consider the current developments to be positive."
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