MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2019) Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is set to visit Istanbul on Friday, October 11, as Turkey prepares a military operation in northern Syria, the alliance said on Tuesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the long-promised operation in northern Syria east of the Euphrates could be launched in the coming days after the United States announced pullout of their troops from the region. The impending Turkish operation is likely to be an assault on the Kurdish fighters who led an armed coalition known as the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), which the US supported to spearhead an attack on the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).
"The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will travel to Rome on Wednesday, 9 October 2019, Athens on Thursday, 10 October 2019, and Istanbul on Friday, 11 October 2019," the NATO said in a statement, adding that the secretary general will meet with "senior Turkish leaders."
Stoltenberg has consistently praised Turkey as an important ally in the fight against terrorism in Syria and Iraq.
