US Supports Kurdish Terrorists To Achieve Goals In Syria, Turkey Urges To Re Think

Illustration of the US military carrying out missions in the Middle East. (Wikimedia Commons-Staft Sigt. Lyndette Hoke-US Army)

JAKARTA - Turkey urges the United States (US) to reconsider US support for Kurdish militants in Syria.

"We constantly remind our American counterparts that they need to stop the cooperation they have with terrorist organizations in Syria," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

"Our contacts regarding this issue continue to be carried out. We see that the US side also wants more talks and negotiations," he added.

On Sunday 10 November, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had the potential to launch a new attack on northern Syria to create new safe zones along its country's borders.

Erdogan said this after saying he would discuss the possibility of withdrawing US troops from Syria with US President-elect Donald Trump.

Turkey's relations with the US warmed after the US expressed its support for the Kurdish YPG militia to achieve its goal of fighting ISIS in Syria.

Turkey has warned against the ban on Kurdish militant terrorist organizations that are extensions of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The militant group has also been considered by the US as a terrorist.

Turkey, which is also a NATO member in recent years, has carried out several cross-border operations targeting Kurdish militants. Attacks on Kurdish militants will also be increased for the security of Turkey's border areas.

Erdogan said that what he highlighted had created a Kurdish safe zone in Syria so that it "failed efforts to surround Kurdish" from the southern border. Erdogan also emphasized that Turkey would not be one-sided in favor of remaining firm "completely cut off contact with terrorist organizations."