Turkish Foreign Minister Says Weapons Obtained by Kurds in Syria Threaten Turkey

Sputnik News

17:02 10.05.2017(updated 17:36 10.05.2017)

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday that the weapons obtained in northern Syria by the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) militia pose a threat to Turkey, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Despite objections from Turkey, US President Donald Trump on May 9 approved a plan to arm Kurdish groupsfighting Daesh (jihadist group banned in numerous countries) in Syria.

According to the Daily Sabah newspaper, Cavusoglu stressed that Washington was aware of Ankara's position on YPG and warned against taking the "wrong steps" in Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Wednesday that Ankara hopes that Washington understands that the involvement of Kurdish forces in the fight against the terrorist organizations in Syria is a sensitive issue for Turkey.

"Our position is clear: Turkey is against the Kurdistan Workers' Party and other groups being used in the fight against the IS… We still think that the United States may take into consideration the fact that it is a sensitive issue for us," Yildirim said.

The prime minister stressed that Turkey informed all its partners, including the United States, of its attitude towards the PKK.

Yildirim added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would personally tell Trump about Ankara's concerns during a visit to Washington on May 17.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, led by the Kurds, are currently carrying out an operation to encircle Raqqa, an Daesh stronghold in Syria.

Ankara considers the YPG and the Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party's (PYD) to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terror group in Turkey, the United States and the European Union. In spite of this, however, the PYD and the YPG, as well as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been receiving support from the United States in fighting the Daesh terrorist group in northern Syria.

© Sputnik