Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, July 9, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Umit Bekta.

Turkey may start a new military operation in Syria at any moment, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, adding that US President Donald Trump had given a positive response to Turkey’s plans for an operation east of the Euphrates.

Erdogan made the comments during a speech in the central province of Konya. Last week he said Turkish forces would launch a new cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, to the east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.