Turkey says will go on with training, arming Syria militants
Turkey has reaffirmed its support for militants operating in Syria, saying it will move ahead with training and equipping opposition elements fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
“Moving forward, train-and-equip activities will continue uninterruptedly," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said at a press conference in Ankara on Thursday, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Bilgic further claimed that the policy was in line with the recent agreement between Ankara and Washington to sponsor the so-called moderate militants active in Syria.
"Within the scope of the agreement with US, the train-and-equip program is being carried out as outlined,” he added.
Back in February, the United States and Turkey signed an agreement to train and arm the so-called moderate militants in Syria in their alleged battle against the Takfiri Daesh terrorists in the Arab country.
They began their joint operation in May, claiming that the mission aims only to target the Daesh terrorists. Analysts, however, argue that the project actually seeks to create more chaos in Syria and weaken the Syrian government.
Syria has repeatedly condemned the West and its regional allies for using the concept of "moderate militants" to justify their support for the terrorists in Syria. The Syrian foreign minister recently slammed the US for making a distinction between the armed Takfiri groups fighting against the Damascus government.
“For us in Syria, there is no such thing as moderate or non-moderate opposition. Whoever that takes up arms against the Syrian state is a terrorist,” Walid al-Muallem said in early August.
Syria has been grappling with a foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The conflict has so far killed more than 240,000 people.
Turkey, along with several other US allies in the region, has time and again been accused of supporting the militants fighting against the Damascus government.
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