ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed Turkey would thwart any attempt by a Kurdish militia it deems “terrorists” to carve out a Kurdish state in northern Syria.
Ankara views the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD) as a terror group. But the US is closely allied with the groups’ fighters in the battle against Daesh in Syria.
“We do not and will never allow a so-called state to be established by the PYD, YPG in northern Syria,” Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.
“They want to establish a terror corridor in northern Syria reaching the Mediterranean,” the president said.
The Syrian Kurdish groups have two “cantons” in Syria’s northeast as well as the Afrin region to the west.
Erdogan added that Turkey would continue to fight against terror organizations “wherever we find them,” referring to the YPG which Turkey says is the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK is proscribed as a terror group by Turkey, the US and the EU.
It has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 during which over 40,000 people have been killed.
In August last year, Turkey launched a cross-border operation in northern Syria, aimed at clearing the border zone of both YPG fighters and jihadists.
There has been speculation Ankara may be planning to extend an operation against the YPG to clear it from the town of Afrin, where Erdogan has said its presence is a “threat” for Turkey.
The president indicated on Aug. 5 that Turkey was planning to expand the operation with “new and important steps” but did not give further details.
Erdogan on Monday said a joint operation with Iran against Kurdish militants which “pose a threat,” including the PKK, is “always on the agenda.”
He was speaking after a visit last week by the Iranian armed forces chief, Gen. Mohammed Hossein Bagheri.
Iranian security forces have also fought the PKK’s affiliate, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). Both groups have rear bases in Iraq.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Iraq on Wednesday, his ministry said, to discuss issues including next month’s independence referendum in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.
Cavusoglu will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi in Baghdad and then Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani in Irbil.
Ankara has repeatedly warned against holding the non-binding September 25 poll. Last week, Cavusoglu said the plans could lead to civil war.
Erdogan vows to thwart any ‘Kurdish state’ in Syria
Erdogan vows to thwart any ‘Kurdish state’ in Syria
Jordanian army chief holds talks with Lebanese leaders in Beirut
- Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti highlighted the strong relationship between Jordanian, Lebanese military institutions
LONDON: Jordan’s army chief met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Presidential Palace in Beirut on Thursday to discuss security cooperation.
Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Jordan, addressed regional developments and security challenges, and ways to contribute to the stability of the region.
He also met the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal. They discussed military cooperation and the exchange of expertise and training to improve readiness and efficiency, according to the Petra news agency.
Huneiti highlighted the strong relationship between the Jordanian and Lebanese military institutions. Haykal commended the Jordan Armed Forces’ role in supporting regional security and stability, as reported by Petra.
