This directly contradicts a claim made by the Saudi Brigader General Ahmed al-Assiri who said, late on Saturday, that "Saudi warplanes are present [at Incirlik] with their crews to intensify aerial operations along with missions launched from bases in Saudi Arabia."
These military sources instead insist that the jets are unlikely to arrive for another 2-3 weeks.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that the deployment is in preparation for any potential ground operation into nearby Syria. However he stopped short of saying that Ankara and Riyadh plan to launch such an operation on their own.
"This is not an issue for Turkey or Saudi Arabia alone," he explained, "we have been saying that the coalition should do this."
He also said that, "there is no solid decision on this yet, no concrete strategy. This is not a new idea, but as of today there is no final decision regarding a ground operation."
These military sources instead insist that the jets are unlikely to arrive for another 2-3 weeks.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that the deployment is in preparation for any potential ground operation into nearby Syria. However he stopped short of saying that Ankara and Riyadh plan to launch such an operation on their own.
"This is not an issue for Turkey or Saudi Arabia alone," he explained, "we have been saying that the coalition should do this."
He also said that, "there is no solid decision on this yet, no concrete strategy. This is not a new idea, but as of today there is no final decision regarding a ground operation."
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