Erdogan slams US-Kurdish patrols near Syria border
In a speech to parliament, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chastised the United States for supporting Kurdish militias in Syria and reimposing “imperialist” sanctions on Iran.
ANKARA, Turkey — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the United States Tuesday for ordering US soldiers to conduct patrols with a Syrian Kurdish militia, whom Ankara regards as terrorists, and for reimposing what he called “imperialist” sanctions on Iran.
Speaking to legislators of the ruling Justice and Development Party in the parliament building, Erdogan said US military patrols with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along the Syrian-Turkish border “can cause serious negative developments.”
Pentagon spokesman Rob Manning has said the “assurance patrols” began last week after Turkish artillery bombarded positions of the People's Protection Units (YPG) in northeast Syria. The patrols would “allow us, Turkey and our SDF partners to maintain the safety and security of the region,” Col. Manning said. The United States has some 2,000 troops in Syria.
While the United States sees the SDF as an effective ally in fighting the Islamic State in Syria, Turkey does not regard the SDF as legitimate because most of its members belong to the YPG, a Kurdish militia that is closely aligned to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Turkish Kurd insurgent group. While the United States and EU regard the PKK as a terrorist organization, they do not classify the YPG as terrorist — to the chagrin of Ankara.
