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US leaning on Kurdish fighters in Syria strategy: Turkey

Tuesday, 01 March 2016 7:13 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 March 2016 7:21 PM ]

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan speaks during an interview with AFP at his office at the Cankaya palace in Ankara on March 1, 2016. ©AFP

Turkey's deputy prime minister has blasted the US for its Syria policy, arguing that Washington is dependent on the assistance of Kurdish fighters in its alleged battle against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group operating in the Arab country.

In an exclusive interview with AFP, Yalcin Akdogan accused the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and its affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), of being "arm in arm" with Russia and the Syrian government.

"I don't believe it is a very correct approach for giant America to be relying on and hoping for help from a small terrorist organization and staking its entire Syria approach on this," Akdogan said.

The Turkish official claimed that the YPG and PYD are part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s.

The YPG, which is nearly in control of Syria’s entire northern border with Turkey, has been fighting against Daesh.

Angered by the rapid advance of Syrian Kurdish fighters in areas near the Turkish border, Ankara shelled their positions inside Syria last month.

Tanks stationed at a Turkish army position near the Oncupinar crossing gate close to the Turkish town of Kilis fire toward the Syria border on February 16, 2016. ©AFP

Recently, Turkey also called for a ground incursion to end the conflict in Syria.

However, Akdogan backtracked on the proposal, saying, "Turkey will not launch a unilateral operation. Turkey is not a country to jump into an adventure. It is not a belligerent country."

He urged a "comprehensive" step to fight not just Daesh but also the Syrian government.

Ankara has widely been blamed for the surge in the conflict in Syria as it has been supporting anti-Damascus militants with funds, training and weapons.

In a relevant development on Tuesday, another Turkish deputy premier called on the United Nations to categorize the PKK and the PYD as terrorist groups.

“There is no difference between the PKK and the PYD. Recent evidence showed [that link] very clearly,” Lutfi Elvan told state-run Anadolou news agency.

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the past months. However, activists argue that clashes have led to the death of civilians and inflicted major damage to the buildings and infrastructure in the southeastern region of the country.

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