THE US decision to provide arms to Syrian Kurdish fighters has been criticised by Ankara.
The US said it was a necessary step in recapturing the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes the US will reverse its decision to arm the fighters, perceived as terrorists by Ankara.
Turkey’s deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli also denounced the decision as “unacceptable” and said it “amounts to support to a terror organisation”.
During a visit to Montenegro yesterday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said there was no difference between the Syrian Kurdish fighters and the outlawed Kurdish rebels.
The president said he would take up the issue during a planned meeting with US President Donald Trump on May 16.
Erdogan said the “fight against terrorism should not be led with another terror organisation” and that “we want to know that our allies will side with us and not with terror organisations”.
Erdogan added: “I hope that they [the US] will turn away from this wrong.”
Cavusoglu said: “Every weapon that reaches their hands is a threat towards Turkey.”
However, the Syrian Kurdish group labelled a terror organisation by Turkey hailed the US decision to arm it with heavy weapons to fight Daesh.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said in a statement that the decision was “historic” and a “sign of confidence” in the group, allowing it to expand its operations against Daesh.
A Turkish air raid in late April killed 20 YPG fighters and media officials, prompting the US to deploy armoured vehicles along the border in a show of support.
Turkey is believed to have positioned more than 5000 troops in northern Syria, and has escalated its air strikes and cross-border artillery attacks on the Syrian Kurdish forces.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here