Turkey warns it will 'take initiative' in Syria, Iraq

Turkey will take action if militants do not withdraw immediately from Syria's Manbij region and areas in the country east of the Euphrates, Ankara's National Security Council said on Wednesday.

The Council said it also expected Iraq's government to prevent the operations of the PKK in Iraq, especially in the towns of Sinjar and Qandil. If that was not possible, Turkey would prevent them itself, the council added.

"It was stated during the meeting that terrorists in Manbij should be removed from the region as soon as possible, or else Turkey will not abstain from taking initiative," said a written statement released after the meeting in Ankara, which was chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

It added that Turkey will "take action" if Iraq failed to halt PKK activity in its territory.  

Turkey reserves the right to carry out cross-border operations in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, where the PKK and its affiliates, as well as other groups such as Daesh and Al Qaeda cells, often pose a threat to its borders. 

Turkey, the US and the EU all consider the PKK to be a terrorist organisation. 

In January, the Turkish Armed Forces launched a border security mission in the northwestern Syrian region of Afrin aimed at clearing the enclave of PKK-linked YPG militants and Daesh remnants. 

The mission, dubbed Operation Olive Branch, is being carried out alongside Free Syrian Army forces. 

The National Security Council also said that Greece has been behaving in a manner that contradicts good neighbourly relations, adding that "Turkey will not give concessions on its national interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean."

Turkey has been at loggerheads with Greece over the disputed Kardak/Imia islets in the Aegean Sea, having almost gone to war over the islets in 1996. 

In February, the Turkish Navy intercepted a Greek ship near the islets, bringing tensions between the two NATO members to a new high.

Turkey also objects to “unilateral hydrocarbon-related activities” undertaken by Greek Cypriots in Eastern Mediterranean. 

Turkey blocked a ship that was hired by the Greek Cypriot administration to drill for oil off the coast of the island in February. 

Turkey, as one of the guarantor state for Cyprus, opposes the drilling, saying it flouts the rights of the Turkish Cypriots' natural resources.