Turkey warns France of supporting Kurdish militants in Syria

Turkey on Tuesday warned France of supporting the Kurdish people’s protection units fighting the jihadists in Syria and Ankara is trying to defeat them, taking advantage of the declared US withdrawal.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Group is Syria’s cornerstone in the war of the international coalition against the jihadists led by Washington according to the west; on the other hand the Turkish authorities consider them as “terrorist” organization, saying they are linked to the PKK, which has been fighting the Turkish army since 1984.

“It’s no secret that France supports the Kurdish people’s protection units”, Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Ghawish-oglu said, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron met with their representatives recently.

“We have no information on sending new French soldiers but they are maintaining their current deployment”, said Ghawish-oglu who was speaking during a meeting with Turkish journalists.

If they stay to contribute to the future of Syria, thank you. However if their efforts are to protect the Kurdish people’s protection units, it will not be useful to anyone”, he said.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 US troops deployed in Syria fighting jihadist militants along with a Kurdish Arab alliance dominated by people’s protection units.

France is contributing to the international coalition against jihadists in Syria and Iraq, led by Washington.

French artillery and aircraft have been deployed.

According to several sources, Special Forces elements are also deployed on the ground in Syria, but Paris has never confirmed this.

French President Emmanuel Macron Sunday expressed “deep regret” over the US withdrawal, saying the ally “must be credible”.

France also confirmed that it remains engaged in the international coalition against the jihadists despite the announced withdrawal of US forces from Syria.

Trump said after a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan that he was counting on the Turkish president to “eradicate” the organization of the Islamic state, saying that the extremist group “was defeated to a large extent”.

“We have the power to neutralize the organization of the Islamic state”, he said.

Trump and Erdogan agreed to ensure close coordination of the declared withdrawal of US forces.

In a sign of a significant improvement in relations between the two countries after several months of tension, especially Washington’s support for Kurdish “people protection units”, Erdogan called for Trump to visit Turkey in 2019, according to US and Turkish officials.

“Although no order has been finalized, US President Trump is open to a possible future meeting”, said the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gildy.

A US delegation is due to visit Turkey this week to discuss ways to coordinate the US withdrawal.

Erdogan also announced on Tuesday that the Turkish delegation will visit Russia in the coming days another key player in Syria, for talks centered on the US withdrawal.

He also said he intended to discuss the issue with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

In an effort to pressure the people’s protection units involved in the announcement of the US withdrawal, Turkey on Monday deployed new military reinforcements on the border with Syria in preparation for the attack, even Erdogan has decided to postpone.

Troops of military units, Howitzer guns and missile batteries were sent in a convoy to the Bayli region off the Syrian border in the Turkish province of Kilis, as the Anadolu news agency reported.

The reinforcements were expected to arrive at the end of the week as 100 Turkish military vehicles arrived in the Turkish-controlled area of ​​Al Bab, northern Syria, according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet newspaper.