Journalist Ahmet S. Yayla stated that the operation by Turkey may be done to relocate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and al-Qaeda elements from Idlib in light of the demilitarization agreement between Russia and Turkey. Salih Muslim, the former co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party, has also stated that Russia and Turkey were plotting to send Jihadists to fight against Kurdish forces in Syria through the agreement.[5] On 30 October 2018, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said to a public gathering prior to the operation, "The plan is to remove the YPG, collect their heavy weaponry and finally allow the real Manbij people to be in full control of their city."[6]