Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said Türkiye will not accept the condolences issued by the United States over Sunday's terrorist attack that claimed six lives on Istanbul's Istiklal Street on Sunday. His remarks on Monday followed statements by Turkish officials hitting out at those who support terrorist groups, including the PKK and its Syrian wing YPG, the culprit in Sunday's attack. Ankara in the past has accused the U.S. of supplying weapons and training to the terrorist group in northern Syria.
"We know what the message of the perpetrators of this attack was. We received the message and let them make no mistake and we will duly respond to their message," the minister said, referring to Türkiye's counterterrorism efforts that took place in Syria and Iraq in recent years, in a bid to curb the power of terrorist groups from PKK/YPG to Daesh.
Soylu singled out the United States among the countries sending their condolences and said Ankara does not accept Washington's sentiments. "This message of condolence should be interpreted as 'killers always arrive on the scene first.' We will certainly give a clear answer to this message," the minister cryptically said.
"You will see soon, God willing," he added. "You can fight terrorism in the mountains, beyond your borders, in your cities and can prevent many acts of terrorism. If you miss preventing one, you pay a great price. We know we are facing a great ordeal in our immediate vicinity," he said. "Nobody lives close to Kobani and Qamishli," he said, referring to Syrian towns controlled by PKK/YPG. "This year alone, we prevented about 200 acts of terrorism and they would likely have had more dire consequences if they were not prevented," he also said.
"We will still continue our struggle to the end, regardless of its price. I believe the support of our so-called allies to terrorists, by hiding them in their countries or giving them a lifeline in the areas they occupied, funding them through decisions of their senate is obvious, this is blatant insincerity," he said.
