TBILISI. Oct 17 (Interfax) - Turkish ambassador in Tbilisi Fatma Seren Yazgan is concerned about "the wave of misinformation" concerning Ankara which she has observed in Georgia in the past few days.
"There is certain tension between Turkey and the U.S. over Syria and I feel that there is certain concern due to this in Georgia too. We also have seen a big wave of misinformation concerning Turkey in Georgia in the past two-three days," the ambassador said at a Thursday press conference.
She said that there are especially many false reports about Ajaria and Turkish-Georgian relations. "I want to stress that the land and maritime borders between Turkey and Georgia have been delimited, defined and marked. In this context we hear such false reports that, for instance, it will be 100 years since the signing of the Treaty of Kars in 2021, the treaty expires and Turkey allegedly wants to seize Ajaria," Yazgan said.
She called for ignoring such false reports noting that they are circulated by various websites part of which may have certain links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
The ambassador said such misinformation is spread for provocative purposes.
She also dismissed as untrue rumors spread in the social media and part of the mass media that big numbers of civilians die in Turkey's operation in Syria.
She said that the military operation in Syria is directed not against Kurds but against an organization that is involved in terrorism and has staged numerous terrorist attacks against the civilian population in Turkey and Turkish border guards. "We have been fighting against this organization for 40 years already. As for civilian casualties, they are very few in this operation," Yazgan said noting that Turkey would want there to be no civilian casualties at all.
As for the duration of the operation, the objectives of the operation have been defined, not its duration, she said.
"Our president has said on numerous occasions that we have declared the objectives of the operation, not its duration. The objective is to free a territory 30 kilometers wide and 480 kilometers long from terrorists," the ambassador said adding that the security of Turkish borders is another objective.