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Turkey Renames Street With US Embassy in Ankara - Reports

ANKARA (Sputnik) – The street in Ankara where the US Embassy is located was named in honor of the Olive Branch operation carried out by Turkish forces and their allied Syrian opposition units in the northern Syrian district of Afrin, local media reported on Wednesday.
Sputnik

The initiative was announced on Monday by Ankara's Mayor Mustafa Tuna, who said that the Nevzat Tandogan Street would be renamed as the Olive Branch Street. Ankara's municipality made the decision unanimously, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.

On Tuesday, US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said that the issue was an internal matter of Turkey.

Ankara's municipality made the decision unanimously, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.

'Foxhunt': Life in Kurdish Afrin's Heartland Amid Turkish Operation Olive Branch
The move comes amid rising tensions in US-Turkish relations as the United States continues to support Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) operating in northern Syria. Last week, a senior State Department official said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would seek to put an end to the Turkish-led operation in Afrin.

Turkey launched the operation on January 20 in Afrin, which is controlled by the US-backed YPG. Ankara considers the YPG to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it had designated as a terrorist organization.

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