Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Monday on the United States to fulfill its obligations under the roadmap agreement in Manbij and to expel elements of PKK-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) from the city.
Erdogan said Turkey expects Syria's Manbij to be cleared of YPG terrorists and to be left to local people as soon as possible, as promised.
Addressing Justice and Development Party (AKP)’s supporters during an election campaign rally in southwestern Turkey's Burdur, he stressed that Turkey will not turn a blind eye to the establishment of an entity for a "terrorist organization" next to its southern borders and will destroy that terrorist corridor at all costs.
The President pledged that his country will clear its southern borders from terrorists and establish a safe zone for thousands of Syrian refugees to return to their country.
“We have been waiting the halt of continued support for the Euphrates River- based terrorist organization (YPG).”
“Turkey aims to restore security in these areas and to rehabilitate its infrastructure so that refugees can return to their homes,” he explained.
“What kind of NATO alliance is this? You give terrorists around 23,000 truckloads of weapons and tools through Iraq but when we asked, you won't even sell them to us," Erdogan addressed the US.
Washington has formed an alliance with the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), whose elements are mainly constituted of YPG. Unlike Turkey, the US doesn’t consider the YPG a terrorist organization.
Erdogan said only those who side with Turkey will win in the region, reiterating Turkey's determination to fight terrorism in neighboring Syria and saying it will definitely deal a heavy blow to the terrorist organization soon.
He continued slamming Washington and tackled the topic of purchasing the S-400 missile system from Russia, saying that Washington has no right to go against this purchase.
“They [the US] tell us to change our mind about purchasing the S-400 missiles. Why would we?" he asked.
“They travel thousands of kilometers to carry out operations in Syria and protect their security while Turkey is only 911-kilometers away and it is under threat, and they ask us not to carry out military operations inside Syria. Does it make sense?”
In this context, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his US counterpart Mike Pompeo held a phone call on Sunday evening to discuss developments in Syria.
