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Turkey has urged the United States to reverse a decision to arm Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is on a visit to Montenegro, said in a televised news conference that every weapon supplied to the Kurdish militia constituted a threat to Turkey.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis today said he is confident the United States can allay any concerns Turkey has over the decision to arm Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Ankara considers terrorists.
The Pentagon yesterday said President Donald Trump had approved arming Kurdish fighters ahead of an eventual offensive to recapture the Islamic State group’s Syrian stronghold of Raqa.
Earlier Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, Nurettin Canikli hoped that the United States will end its policy of supporting the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. , Ankara could not accept US support for the group.
He said in Ankara that Turkey cannot accept the presence of terrorist organisations that would threaten the future of the country.
Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist group by the United States, Turkey and Europe.
US President Donald Trump has approved supplying arms to the YPG to support their fight against Islamic State in Syria.