US Assists YPG Terrorist Arms, President Erdogan: We Don't Want To Be Hostile, But Conditions Are Not Favorable

Illustration of YPG special forces. (Wikimedia Commons/Kurdishstruggle)

JAKARTA - Despite inviting security concerns from its NATO ally Turkey, the United States continues to provide support to the Syrian branch of the YPG (People's Protection Units International)/PKK (Kurdishan Workers Party) military wing.

The YPG/PKK is a banned organization in Turkey, which together with the European Union and the United States has designated the PKK as a terrorist organization. However, to fight ISIS in Syria, Washington forged allies with the YPG.

Citing Daily Sabah October 4, recently, the YPG shared footage of the Bradley armored vehicles supplied to them by Washington. Last month, the US House of Representatives was also said to have approved a $778 billion 2022 defense budget bill.

That is said to include $177 million in aid to the contentious YPG. The bill also includes 'salary' assistance, training, logistical support, and basic necessities, to equipment, including missiles, rifles, heavy weapons, mortars, and rocket launchers. Also, maintenance and repair.

Illustration of YPG special forces. (Wikimedia Commons/Kurdishstruggle)

The bill covers salaries paid to terrorists, training, living materials, logistical support, and equipment, including missiles, rifles, heavy weapons, mortars, and rocket launchers, as well as their maintenance and repair.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other senior figures from Turkey recently highlighted that Washington has stepped up its support for the YPG.

Reportedly, Uncle Sam's country has provided nearly 2 billion US dollars in financial support to terrorist groups from its defense budget in the last five years. This figure has risen to nearly US$3 billion, with additional funding provided by the Gulf states.

The US, which recognizes the PKK as a terrorist group, says the training, weapons, and ammunition support it provides to the YPG is to support the fight against the terrorist organization Daesh or ISIS.

However, the air defense products provided by the US to the YPG contradict these claims, as Daesh has no air defense arsenal.

Illustration of YPG special forces. (Wikimedia Commons/Kurdishstruggle)

The issue of US support for the YPG/PKK terrorists has become one of the main disputes between Ankara-Washington. The US has primarily partnered with the YPG in northeast Syria to fight Daesh.

Meanwhile, Turkey strongly opposes the presence of the YPG in northern Syria and the establishment of a terror corridor, which has become a major issue in the strained Turkey-US relations.

Ankara has long objected to US support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Turkey and terrorizes local communities, destroying homes and forcing people to flee.

While underlining that a country cannot support one terrorist group to fight another, Turkey carried out its own counterterrorism operation, which has so far succeeded in removing a large number of terrorists from the region.

The US is currently supporting terrorist organizations far more than expected, President Erdogan recently said.

"My wish is to have friendly and non-hostile relations with the United States. However, the current state of affairs between the two NATO allies is not very favorable," said President Erdogan.