Syria ceasefire ‘not binding’ for Turkey if security threatened: PM

“Secondly, how things ended for the Ottoman Empire itself”, she added.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told state-run Anadolu Agency that Saudi aircraft would arrive “today or tomorrow” at the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey to join the fight against Islamic State in Syria.

The cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russian Federation is due to go into effect at midnight local time across Syria.

“Recently, the Turkish political elite really gives the grounds for us to believe those who think that imperial ambitions are reappearing in Turkey”. The U.S. launches most of its combat and surveillance flights across Syria and Iraq from airbases in Turkey. However, they say they are not necessarily opposed to another one.

The head of Syria’s powerful Al-Qaeda branch on Friday urged opponents of President Bashar al-Assad to reject a ceasefire due to begin at midnight and instead intensify attacks on the regime.

-Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations.

“I would like to stress that the Russian-US ceasefire agreement does not include ISIS, Al-Nusra Front militants and other militants designated as terrorists by the UN Security Council”. USA officials have been adamant in recent weeks in their refusal to recognize the PYD – or its armed wing, the YPG – as a terrorist organization, instead calling the YPG a “reliable partner” in the fight against ISIL, supporting the group with weapons and training.

Russia’s official media Wednesday played up a report that the US may have supplied Javelin anti-tank missiles to Syrian Kurds as the USA and Moscow traded accusations ahead of a tentative truce in the civil war that is supposed to start Saturday.

“As the worldwide support group, our aim is not to divide Syrian territory but to protect its territorial integrity”, he said.

The U.N. humanitarian chief says a World Food Program plane has dropped the first cargo of desperately needed aid to the Syrian city of Deir el-Zour which is surrounded by the extremist Islamic State group. “I am absolutely fine and have no further comment”, McGarry said.

“We are very cautious about raising expectations on this”, Obama said in the Oval Office, where he was hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

The U.S. should acknowledge Syria’s PYD group is part of the PKK, Washington’s former envoy to Ankara said Friday.

The YPG captured Tel Abyad from Daesh a year ago in an offensive backed by U.S.-led air strikes. The U.S. has also sought to rein in the YPG.

The Local Coordination Committees said the warplanes were Russian.

Turkish leaders, including the president and the prime minister, all warned about unspecified Turkish actions in Syria to prevent threats against its own national security.

Turkey has demanded that the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia should remain outside the scope of the truce.

She said that the problem in applying this agreement lies in the US intention and whether it really wants to join Russian Federation in combating terrorism in Syria and wants to put an end to the bloodshed along with finding a political solution, referring to the doubts that have emerged regarding the latest statements of the US Secretary of State John Kerry.

However he did say Washington is opposed to YPG advances in Syria’s northwestern Aleppo region. Golani used a derogatory term to refer to Shiite Muslims.

SANA says most of the casualties were pensioners as the shells slammed near the post building were they come to pick up their pension.

Erdogan also accused the West, Russia and Iran of “permitting, directly or indirectly, the killing of innocent people”.

Davutoglu said the cease-fire would have “no meaning if Russian Federation continues with its irresponsible bombings”.

The Kremlin has denied allegations that Russia’s air force bombed civilian positions east of Damascus on the eve of the ceasefire.