Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said that operation on El Bab which in the scope of Euphrates Shield is about to come to an end.

Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesman Numan Kurtulmuş made explanation to journalists in the given break of the meeting of the Council of Ministers.

Speaking about recent visits by US officials to Turkiye, Kurtulmuş said “Some of the differences in opinion, especially in Syria, are beginning to be resolved, and that some convergence of opinion has begun, which will allow for positive steps to be taken on the FETO.”

Kurtulmuş said, "As Turkiye, no matter what the other countries do, our position of standing at an equal distance to terrorist organizations will never change. Daesh and PYD will be considered a terrorist organizations."

Kurtulmuş said that the operation carried out in El Bab under the Euphrates Shield has reached the end, "The forces of the Free Syrian Army, supported by the Turkish Armed Forces, have dominated the whole city. But we continue with care and diligence because of the possible occurrence of suicide attacks by Daesh. Against this, TSK [Turkish Army] and FSA members also maintain the very clever way of cleaning the operation."

Spoken also about possible Raqqa operation, Kurtulmuş said: "As soon as El Bab cleans completely, people will come to it, and now we say let’s use the same model in Raqqa. In Raqqa there are local elements need to be supported. The international community, Turkiye, the United States and other elements give logistics support here, so clean it out of Daesh. After clean it up, it shouldn’t hand over another terrorist organization. Our position is very clear. Turkiye will act according to negotiations result if a result is obtained." (ILKHA)