Turkey needs civilian contributions in the United States to raise awareness about its counterterrorism fight, the Minister of Family and Social Policies Derya Yanık told the Turkish community living there.
Speaking at a meeting with Turkish American people at the Turkish House (Türkevi) in New York, Yanık said Turkey is ready to provide all sorts of support in conveying the message regarding the country’s counterterrorism efforts against the PKK terrorist group, its Syrian offshoot YPG, as well as the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
"Turkey has been left alone in the international sphere in its fight against terrorist groups," Yanık said, adding that the U.S.’ stance regarding the aforementioned terrorist groups is rather unpleasant.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Turkey and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara.
The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Turkey strongly opposed the YPG's presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.' support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Turkey and that terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the YPG, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Turkey conducted its own counterterrorism operations, over the course of which it has managed to remove a significant number of terrorists from the region.
