President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's chief adviser Gülnur Aybet explained the reasons for the ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Syria's Afrin to U.S. opinion leaders and academicians.

Aybet attended a round-table meeting organized by the Turkish Heritage Organization (THO) on Thursday at the Benjamin Hotel in New York.

The Turkish consul general to New York Ertan Yalçın was also present at the meeting, which was closed to the press.

During the meeting, Aybet gave detailed information about the latest developments regarding the Afrin operation, Turkey's efforts to eliminate the terror corridor in the region and related national security issues.

President Erdoğan's chief adviser also pointed out that international media has allowed the spreading of twisted stories since the launch of Operation Olive Branch, underlining the fact that the counter-terror operation is based on international law.

Operation Olive Branch was launched by Turkey on Jan. 20 to remove the PKK/PYD/YPG/KCK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin in northwestern Syria.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and in the region as well as to protect Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights within international law, U.N. Security Council resolutions, its right to self-defense under the U.N. charter and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.