Turkey would not agree to any US arms transfers to Kurdish fighters
who are battling Islamic State (Isis) militants in Syria, President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Sunday, as the extremist
group fired more mortar rounds near the Syrian-Turkish border and
fighting around the besieged town of Kobani intensified.
Turkey views the main Syrian Kurdish group, the PYD, and its military wing which is fighting Isis militants as an extension of the PKK, which has waged a 30-year insurgency in Turkey and is designated a terror group by the US and Nato.
Washington has said recently that it has engaged in intelligence sharing with Kurdish fighters and officials have not ruled out future arms transfers to the Kurdish fighters.
“The PYD is for us, equal to the PKK. It is a terror organisation,” Erdogan told a group of reporters on his return from a visit to Afghanistan. “It would be wrong for the United States with whom we are friends and allies in Nato to talk openly and to expect us to say ‘yes’ to such a support to a terrorist organisation.”
Erdogan’s comments were reported by the state-run Anadolu agency on Sunday.
Read more: Turkey will not cooperate in US support for Kurds in Syria, says Erdogan | World news | theguardian.com
Turkey views the main Syrian Kurdish group, the PYD, and its military wing which is fighting Isis militants as an extension of the PKK, which has waged a 30-year insurgency in Turkey and is designated a terror group by the US and Nato.
Washington has said recently that it has engaged in intelligence sharing with Kurdish fighters and officials have not ruled out future arms transfers to the Kurdish fighters.
“The PYD is for us, equal to the PKK. It is a terror organisation,” Erdogan told a group of reporters on his return from a visit to Afghanistan. “It would be wrong for the United States with whom we are friends and allies in Nato to talk openly and to expect us to say ‘yes’ to such a support to a terrorist organisation.”
Erdogan’s comments were reported by the state-run Anadolu agency on Sunday.
Read more: Turkey will not cooperate in US support for Kurds in Syria, says Erdogan | World news | theguardian.com
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