Turkey expects Russia to fulfill commitments made in Syria against terrorist organizations and abide by agreements signed in 2019, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Wednesday, reiterating Ankara's call for northern Syria near the Turkish borders to be cleared of terrorist groups threatening security and stability in the region.

Holding a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the capital Ankara, Çavuşoğlu said terrorist groups threatening Syria have also upped the ante against Turkey and stressed the need to eliminate them.

Turkey expects the United States and Russia to fulfill commitments made in Syria against terrorist organizations and abide by agreements signed in 2019, he added.

For his part, Lavrov protested the U.S. support for terrorist organizations in Syria, saying Moscow experienced a similar problem in the Caucasus in the 1990s.

During the meeting, both ministers had also discussed negotiations of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva that ended on Friday, seeking a solution to the ongoing civil war, according to Lavrov.

He admitted that the two countries have different views on many things, however, "when Russia and Turkey have differences, they respect the positions of each other, this is the key to the achievements in the relations."

The meeting came after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced two weeks ago that Turkey would soon be launching new military operations into northern Syria against the PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch, the YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization.

Ankara says it must act because Washington and Moscow failed to keep their promise to push the YPG 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border after a 2019 Turkish operation, adding that attacks from YPG-controlled areas have increased.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar also told his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in a call on Tuesday that Turkey would respond to moves aimed at disrupting stability in northern Syria, his office said, as Ankara gears up for talks with Moscow ahead of an expected operation in the region.

Akar told Shoigu that "the necessary response will be given to actions aimed at disrupting the stability achieved in the region and the presence of terrorists in the region is not acceptable," the Defense Ministry said in a statement adding that Akar also "reminded that previous agreements on this issue need to be adhered to."

"The importance of continuing close cooperation in Syria aimed at maintaining a long-term stability in the region was noted. Russian-Turkish contacts on these issues will continue," Moscow said regarding the phone call meeting.

Turkey will do whatever is necessary when the time is right, Akar recently said on a possible military operation in northern Syria.

Regarding Erdoğan's statements that Tal Rifaat and Manbij would be the target of a possible operation, Akar said: "As also expressed by our president, harassment and attack attempts against us are concentrated in these two regions. We are responding to the attack attempts in kind. We are ready to do what is necessary, when necessary." When asked about the timing of the operation, Akar said: "Whatever is necessary will be done at the right time and place."

Erdoğan has vowed to capture the towns of Tal Rifaat and Manbij in northern Syria's Aleppo province that are held by the YPG terrorist group.

"We are taking another step in establishing a 30-kilometer security zone along our southern border. We will clean up Tal Rifaat and Manbij," he said last week, adding that the planned military operations will gradually continue in other parts of northern Syria.

Erdoğan has said that since the U.S. and Russia have failed to live up to their commitments to provide a safe zone along the border region, Turkey is ready to mount an operation to protect the nation and locals in northern Syria from the YPG terrorist threat.

In October 2019, Russia committed to removing the terrorist group from Tal Rifaat and Manbij after reaching an agreement with Turkey during Operation Peace Spring. Moscow also promised that the terrorists would be pulled back 30 kilometers from the border on the M4 highway and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring zone. Likewise, then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence pledged to Turkey that the YPG/PKK terrorist group would withdraw from the Operation Peace Spring region. But neither Moscow nor Washington kept their promises.

Turkish-backed operations in previous years have ousted the YPG/PKK from the northwestern enclave of Afrin and a series of border towns further east.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed YPG forces said on Tuesday they would coordinate with Syrian regime troops to fend off any Turkish operation in the north and protect Syrian territory.

The new threats have highlighted the complex web of ties in northern Syria: while Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization, YPG forces are backed by Washington and have also coordinated with the Syrian regime and its ally Russia.

Turkey has backed opposition groups in clashes against Bashar Assad's forces and the YPG. It has used warplanes and increasingly drones to target territory held by the YPG, where terrorist forces have set up a governance system separate from Damascus.

Syrian opposition forces have also said that they are ready to join the Turkish military in a potential new cross-border counterterrorism operation against the YPG in the north to liberate largely Arab populated towns and villages from the terrorists.

The YPG/PKK mostly carries out terrorist attacks in Manbij, Ain al-Arab and the Tal Rifaat district of Aleppo. The terrorist group even uses these regions as bases for its attacks. The YPG, which occupies roughly a third of Syria’s territory with the support of the United States, frequently targets Azaz, Marea, al-Bab, Jarablus, Afrin, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain in the north of the country with heavy weapons. In their attacks, the terrorists use advanced heavy weapons such as TOW missiles, multi-barrel rocket launchers, Katyusha and Grad missiles as well as the U.S. and Russian-made rocket launchers and mortars.

The YPG has controlled much of northeastern Syria since the forces of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad withdrew in 2012. The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Turkey and the European Union, and Washington’s support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria to fight the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Turkey strongly opposed the YPG’s presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.’ support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Turkey and that terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.

While acknowledging Turkey’s security concerns, Washington has voiced concerns about Ankara’s plans, saying a new operation could undermine regional stability and put American forces at risk. Russia also said last week it hoped Turkey "refrains from actions which could lead to a dangerous deterioration of the already difficult situation in Syria."

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).

In 2019, an operation into northeast Syria against the YPG drew widespread international condemnation, prompting Finland, Sweden and others to restrict arms sales to Turkey. Now Turkey is blocking the two Nordic countries’ historic bid to join NATO because of the weapons ban and their support of the terrorist group.