10 April 2018 - 21:10

Turkey to hand over Afrin to its residents when the time comes: Erdogan

<p style="text-align: left;">Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday, April 10, that Ankara would hand over the Syrian northern Kurdish town of Afrin to its residents &ldquo;when the time comes.&rdquo;

His remarks came after Russia said it expected Turkey to hand over Afrin to the Syrian government.

The Turkish military, alongside their rebel allies, seized the city of Afrin on March 18.

Around 250,000 civilians had left after pro-Ankara rebels all but surrounded the city, fleeing southwards to territory still held by the Kurdish forces or controlled by the Syrian government.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow expected Turkey to hand over Afrin to the Syrian government, Russia’s Interfax reported.

Erdogan, however, described as “very wrong” the approach of Russian foreign minister to the future of Afrin region, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said Turkey would hand over Afrin to a central government in Syria when a new administration has been formed following elections.

Canikli added Turkey would take measures in Afrin until all terror risks in the region are eliminated, Reuters reported.

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