"Turkey has every right to conduct operations in Syria and the places where terror organizations are nested with regards to the struggle against the threats that Turkey faces," the Turkish president said during his address to the UNESCO City of Gastronomy: Gaziantep event on Saturday.
The president reportedly said that the situation in Syria is not a question of "the sovereignty rights of the states that cannot take control of their territorial integrity," Hurriyet reported.
"On the contrary, this has to do with the will Turkey shows to protect its sovereignty rights."
"No one can restrict Turkey’s right to self-defense in the face of terror acts that have targeted Turkey; they cannot prevent [Turkey] from using it," the Turkish president said.
Last week Syrian Kurds also reported that 2,000 fighters from militant Islamic groups had crossed from Turkey into the northern Syrian city of Azaz.
The YPG is one of the most effective forces fighting against the Daesh terrorist group in Syria, but Turkey considers it to be a terrorist organization because of its links with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey.
Its position on the YPG is at odds with its allies in Washington, who see the Kurds as an ally against Islamic terrorism.
