Turkey is determined to destroy "terror corridor" east of the Euphrates River in Syria no matter how safe zone talks with the United States conclude on a planned safe zone in the country's north, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday.
Erdoğan's remarks came during a meeting with the provincial heads of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in the Ankara headquarters.
Turkey said on Wednesday it had "run out of patience" with the United States in talks over the formation of the zone, after Turkish and U.S. officials held a series of meetings on the planned safe zone and other developments in the region.
Earlier this week, Turkey’s National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and James Jeffrey, the U.S. envoy to Syria, met in the capital Ankara and they agreed on the establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria.
"If U.S. refuses to sell us F-35 fighter jets, then Turkey will turn to other options", Erdoğan said.
"The U.S. decision to cut Ankara from the jet production programme would not deter it from meeting its needs," he added.
President Donald Trump reportedly told Republican senators during a closed-door White House meeting Tuesday that he is not in favor of implementing penalties on Turkey for its acquisition of the Russian S-400 anti-air missile system.
Trump has repeatedly voiced reluctance to penalize Turkey over its purchase of the S-400, doing so last week when announcing Ankara's removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Turkey's expulsion is slated to be completed by the end of March 2020.
The Trump administration has maintained that the S-400 could expose the advanced fighter to possible Russian subterfuge and is incompatible with NATO systems.
Turkey, however, counters that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance.
Trump blames the Obama administration for the current row over its refusal to sign a deal with Turkey to sell it American defense firm Raytheon's Patriot missile system.
The delivery of S-400 components began on July 12 and is set to continue through April 2020.
Erdoğan said the attack targeting Turkish diplomat in Iraq's Erbil justifies Turkey’s decision of launching a counter-terrorism operation in northern Iraq.
“The attack on our consulate employee in Erbil confirms that our operation [Operation Claw] is a right decision.”
Last week, Osman Kose, who was serving at Turkey's Consulate General in Erbil, was martyred in an armed attack at a restaurant. Apart from the diplomat, two Iraqi nationals sitting at the next table were also killed.
On July 13, Turkey launched Operation Claw-2 as a follow-up to the successfully ongoing Claw-1, which was launched May 27.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Since 2016, Turkey has conducted two major military operations in northwestern Syria -- Operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch -- to purge the region of terrorist groups Daesh and the YPG, which is the Syrian branch of the terrorist organization PKK.
