Ankara on Thursday reiterated its call to the United States to end its support for the PKK’s Syrian wing, the YPG, after a high-level visit to the terrorist group.
"The U.S. continues to support the PKK/YPG/SDF terrorist organization under the pretext of fighting against Daesh. It is not possible to fight a terrorist organization using another terrorist organization. So the fight against terrorism cannot be done with terrorists," a Defense Ministry source told reporters.
In late February, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla visited the al-Hol and al-Roj camps for displaced people in Syria, where the YPG/PKK terrorist group holds the families of Daesh terrorists.
"Our expectation from friendly and allied countries is to stop aid and support to the PKK/YPG/SDF terrorist organization and to provide sincere support to our fight against terrorism," the source said.
The YPG has grown stronger in the region, particularly in Deir el-Zour province, home to Syria’s largest oil wells, thanks to material support from the United States.
The issue strains Turkish-U.S. ties as Ankara warns its NATO ally against aiding terror elements that threaten its national security, something Washington continues to do despite promising to remove the group from the Turkish border area.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated Wednesday that Türkiye is resolute in its fight against terrorism.
"We maintain our will to create a 30-40-kilometer-deep (18.64-24.86-mile-deep) security corridor along our Syrian border. We are determined to fill the gaps in this corridor with new steps, part of which we have already established with our previous operations.
"As we have openly told them in person, we call on all in the region to respect this security strategy of ours. Otherwise, they themselves will be the reason of potential tensions. We have preparations that will cause new nightmares to those who assume they can bring Türkiye to its knees by establishing a ‘terroristan' along our southern borders," Erdoğan warned.
Türkiye continues regular operations against the YPG presence in Syria. Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations since 2016 across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019 – operations that the U.S. had opposed.