Turkey is leery of Kurds’ advances in Syria, believing that Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria will boost separatism among fellow Kurds inside Turkey.
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Turkey on Tuesday summoned the US envoy to Ankara in protest after the US State Department said Washington did not recognise the PYD as a terror group and would continue to support its operations in Syria.
Moscow views United States allegations that it uses unguided munitions in Syria as “totally unfounded”, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing.
On Wednesday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his position that the PYD was no different to Turkey’s Kurdish rebels, which the US does consider to be a terror organization, or to IS. Erdogan has ratcheted up his criticism of the United States for not recognizing Syrian Kurdish forces as “terrorists”, saying Washington’s lack of knowledge of the groups operating in the region had led to bloodshed.
Mr Fabius said he did not expect President Barack Obama to change his strategy before leaving office, regardless of what Secretary of State John Kerry told Mr Assad’s main backers.
Much to Turkey’s chagrin, the PYD could be invited to take park in ongoing Syria peace talks.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, prior to their meeting at Yildiz Mabeyn Palace in Istanbul, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016.
While tension between two North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies – Turkey and the U.S. – remain high due to differences over the PYD, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner stressed that the U.S.’s commitment to its alliance with Turkey should not be questioned.
The recent victories of the YPG against ISIS have raised Turkish concerns, which considers the PYD as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) -which is in conflict with the Turkish army. “They are keeping silent in front of us but in our absence they say ‘We don’t look it that way, ‘” said the Turkish president.
So far, Ankara has spent $9 billion on the refugees, while the UNHCR has only granted $455 million, according to Erdogan.
“Kurdish fighters have been some of the most successful in going after Daesh inside Syria”. It was created to represent the interests of Syrian Kurds and develop bilateral relations with Russian Federation, the mission’s head said.
Syrian opposition activists say Turkish troops are firing artillery shells at areas in northern Syria that are held by Syrian Kurdish fighters.
“Hey America! We know these [organizations] very well”.
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An offensive by Syrian forces, Hezbollah and Shiite militias directed by Iran and backed by Russian bombing raids has reversed opposition gains on the ground and encircled rebels inside Aleppo.
