Turkey has called on member states of the US-led international coalition against ISIS to cut off any relationship with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which heads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and was a close ally of the US during the war on the terror group..
“We expect our coalition partners to sever their links with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG),” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a speech during a meeting of foreign ministers of the international coalition countries in Washington on Thursday.
The minister told the gathering of the coalition of foreign ministers that members must work with “legitimate partners,” stating that the PKK’s Syrian offshoot is responsible for more than 300 attacks in the last two years against Turks and Syrians.
“The coalition must work with legitimate local partners; Kurdish units are a terrorist organization and must be treated as such,” he claimed.
Cavusoglu went on to accuse the YPG of committing crimes against humanity and genocide.
The elimination of terrorism requires a unified effort and non-discrimination among terrorist organizations, he said.
Turkey launched “Operation Peace Spring” on October 9 to eliminate YPG forces from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to “secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.”
Speaking about the operation, Cavusoglu said it was “granted legitimacy through two agreements with the United States and Russia”.
