The defiant rhetoric is likely to set back USA expectations of a halt in the fighting between Washington’s two allies in the region, both of whom are also fighting the Islamic State group in Syria.
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A member of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) patrols in the border town of Jarablus, Syria, August 31, 2016.
Turkey however rejected Washington’s claim that it had agreed to hold fire on the pro-Kurdish coalition.
His comments were echoed by President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, who said Turkey would continue striking Kurdish militia until they withdrew from the region where Turkish forces are fighting.
Turkey sees the YPG as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK] which has waged a bloody war against the Turkish state since 1984.
Turkey wants to clear Islamic State from a 90 km (56 mile) stretch of territory on the Syrian side of its border, an official said on Wednesday, a week after launching an incursion that has strained ties with the United States.
Three Turkish soldiers were killed in a rocket attack on a tank near Jarabulus, the reports said.
Celik told the Anadolu news agency that “to suggest (Turkey) is on a par with a terrorist organization and suggest there are talks between them, that a deal has been reached between them, this is unacceptable”.
Celik said Turkey could not be put on an equal footing with a “terrorist organization”, referring to the USA -backed Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The fighting between Turkey’s military and the Kurdish forces has raised concern in the United States that it could detract them from the battle against the Islamic State group and frustrate anti-IS efforts by the USA -led coalition.
Turkish troops clashed with the USA -backed Kurdish Syrian forces around Jarablus to try to halt their advance and form a contiguous corridor on the border between Turkey and Syria.
Kurdish-backed militias said they had agreed to the truce. Washington had expressed alarm after a weekend of clashes between its Turkish and Kurdish allies. A spokesman for the Turkish foreign ministry, however, told AFP that there was only a “phone call” to Ambassador John Bass.
Russian Federation has voiced concern over the actions of Turkey’s armed forces and fighters led by Ankara in northern Syria.
Ankara fears that, if Kurdish militia control the entire area along Turkey’s southern border with Syria, it could embolden the Kurdish militant PKK group which has fought a three-decade-long insurgency to demand autonomy on Turkish soil. The US-led anti-IS coalition has been backing the YPG with training and equipment to fight the militants.
The suicide attack is the first by ISIS to target Turkish-backed rebels since they entered Syria last week.
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Turkey’s offensive has raised concerns that Ankara could be drawn even deeper into the Syrian conflict.
