Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry has lambasted the United States for “purposefully twisting” the country’s fight against terrorist organizations that directly threaten its national security.
“We are calling on the U.S. to show solidarity with Türkiye and display a principled, consistent, determined and effective attitude in the spirit of alliance,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson and Ambassador Tanju Bilgiç said Thursday in a written response to the U.S.' 2021 Country Reports on Terrorism.
Türkiye conducts its war on terrorist organizations like the PKK and its Syrian branch YPG, the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and Daesh without discrimination in line with the law and actively contributes to international efforts on this front, Bilgiç underlined.
“Referring to the YPG, the extension of the PKK, as a partner of the U.S. in the fight against Daesh demonstrates the fact that U.S. authorities are still unable to comprehend the fallacy of using a terrorist organization in combatting another terrorist organization,” he said.
Bilgiç further described it as a “separate oddity” that the U.S. claims, citing biased media reports, Türkiye’s counterterrorism operations in Syria and Iraq “have caused loss of civilian life."
“The terrorist designation of FETÖ, which is the perpetrator of the 2016 bloody coup attempt in Türkiye and known to be involved in criminal activity in every country it’s present in, including the U.S., has been proven through Turkish judicial rulings based on concrete evidence. Therefore, the description of our fight against FETÖ members as being ‘politically motivated’ is unacceptable,” Bilgiç stressed.
“We expect the U.S. to immediately end FETÖ's presence and activities on its soil,” he said.
Bilgiç slammed the inclusion of “allegations based on hearsay and biased media news” in the document and concluded by saying, “This raises suspicion about the seriousness of the report.”
The United States, European Union and Türkiye recognize the PKK as a terrorist group. Ankara has documented the fact that the YPG, what Washington labels the "SDF," is in actuality the same terrorist group and continued U.S. support for the militants has been a source of major strain between the allies.
For years, Türkiye has strenuously objected to Washington’s proven assistance, including arms, military training and regular patrols, to the terrorists, who have attacked Türkiye and taken tens of thousands of lives over the past 40 years.
The terrorist group has used bases across Türkiye’s border in northern Iraq and northern Syria to plot and carry out attacks on the country, working to create a terrorist corridor along the borderline, threatening both Syrian locals and nearby Turkish residents.
Since 2016, Ankara has been leading counteroffensives against these groups and striving to establish a 30-kilometer-deep (19-mile-deep) security line, for which Russia and the U.S. also committed to providing support in October 2019.
The same month, Türkiye launched its Operation Spring Peace against the PKK/YPG and Daesh in northern Syria, with Washington promising that the PKK/YPG would withdraw from the region. The U.S. military then evacuated all its bases in the area, prioritizing stationing near oil fields occupied by the terrorists in the Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir el-Zour districts and continues sending reinforcements worth millions of dollars to the units there.
Thanks to this help, the PKK/YPG has grown stronger in northeastern Syria, despite Washington’s promises to Türkiye that it would “consult and work closely” with Ankara against Daesh and the PKK.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan too often lambasts the U.S. for “turning a blind eye” to Türkiye’s concerns over its cooperation with the PKK/YPG despite repeated complaints, stressing that Türkiye is “committed to protecting its borders and will not seek anyone’s permission” for cross-border operations against terrorists.
