ANKARA: Ankara will not tolerate any delay from the US over setting up a safe zone in northern Syria, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
“They (the US) first need to be sincere and need to understand that Turkey won’t tolerate delaying tactics,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a press conference in Ankara.
His comments come as an American military delegation headed by Lt. Gen. Stephen Twitty, deputy commander of the US European Command, was expected in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa.
He will supervise the establishment of the joint operations center as part of the effort to organize a “safe zone” in northern Syria, the Turkish defense ministry.
The Pentagon on Wednesday said the agreement would be “implemented in stages.”
The goal of the zone is to create a buffer between the Turkish border and areas controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Turkey has repeatedly threatened to launch an assault east of the Euphrates river against the YPG, which it says is a “terrorist” offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.
But Washington has worked closely with the YPG in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Little is known about the size of the safe zone and how it will work, but Cavusoglu said there would be observation posts and joint patrols.
He said US President Donald Trump had previously promised it would be 32-kilometer (20 mile) wide.
Turkey previously conducted two offensives into Syria, against Daesh and the YPG, in 2016 and 2018.
Ankara won’t tolerate US delay over Syria safe zone: Turkey’s foreign minister
Ankara won’t tolerate US delay over Syria safe zone: Turkey’s foreign minister
- The goal of the zone is to create a buffer between the Turkish border and areas controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units
- Turkey has repeatedly threatened to launch an assault east of the Euphrates river against the Kurds
Morocco’s energy ministry puts gas pipeline project on hold
- The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around 1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates
RABAT: Morocco’s energy ministry said on Monday it has paused a tender launched last month for a gas pipeline project, without giving details on the reasons for the suspension.
The tender sought bids to build a pipeline linking a future gas terminal at the Nador West Med port on the Mediterranean to an existing pipeline that allows Morocco to import LNG through Spanish terminals and supply two power plants.
It also covered a section that would connect the existing pipeline to industrial zones on the Atlantic in Mohammedia and Kenitra.
“Due to new parameters and assumptions related to this project... the ministry of energy transition and sustainable development is postponing the receipt of applications and the opening of bids received as of today,” the ministry said in a statement.
Morocco is looking to expand its use of natural gas to diversify away from coal as it also accelerates its renewable energy plan, which aims for renewables to account for 52 percent of installed capacity by 2030, up from 45 percent now.
The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around 1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates.
