ISTANBUL: Turkey and Saudi Arabia could launch a ground operation against Islamic State militants in Syria, the Turkish foreign minister said Saturday, adding the Kingdom was already sending jets to a Turkish base to attack the extremists.
The coordinated plans by Riyadh and Ankara, who are pursuing an increasingly tight alliance, add a new element to the explosive situation in Syria where Russia has been backing a successful regime offensive against rebels.
“If there is a strategy (against IS) then Turkey and Saudi Arabia could enter into a ground operation,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Yeni Safak and Haberturk newspapers after taking part in the Munich Security Conference.
“Some say ‘Turkey is reluctant to take part in the fight against Daesh (IS)’. But it is Turkey that is making the most concrete proposals,” he said.
Cavusoglu added that Saudi Arabia is also sending planes to the Turkish base of Incirlik, a key hub for US-led coalition operations against IS, already used by Britain, France and the United States carrying for cross-border air raids.
“They (Saudi officials) came, did a reconnaissance of the base. At the moment it is not clear how many planes will come,” Cavusoglu said.
– ‘Saudi could send troops’ –
Asked if Saudi Arabia could send troops to the Turkish border to enter Syria, Cavusoglu said: “This is something that could be desired but there is no plan. Saudi Arabia is sending planes and they said ‘If the necessary time comes for a ground operation then we could send soldiers’.”
His comments come after Assad defiantly told AFP in an exclusive interview published on Friday that he would recapture the whole of Syria.
Assad also said he “doesn’t rule out” that Turkey and Saudi Arabia would intervene militarily in Syria but said that his armed forces “will certainly confront it”.
