ANKARA (Sputnik) — The United States does not yet have a clear plan for the liberation of the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Daesh terrorist group (outlawed in Russia), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.
"I cannot say that the new [US] leadership has a clear plan regarding Raqqa. During the visits to Turkey of the head of the US Joint Staff and the director of the CIA, steps, which we can call preliminary, have been taken in this process," Erdogan said, as quoted by the Haber7 broadcaster.
He added that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) should not participate in the operation, calling it "unacceptable."
On Wednesday, the commander of the US-led coalition against Daesh said he expected Syrian Kurds to take part in the liberation of Raqqa.
The city of Raqqa is the Daesh stronghold in Syria. Turkey and the Kurdish troops have voiced their plans to liberate the Daesh-occupied city.
Erdogan said that the aim of the operation is to clear the territory of 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) in Syria as part of the operation and create a safe zone for refugees.
The operation has been widely criticized both by the Syrian Kurds and Damascus, who have accused Ankara of violating Syria's territorial integrity.
Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) collapsed because of a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members.
