Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said that Washington continues to support the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, thus disrupting the balance in the region.
“Unfortunately, we see that the extraordinary support that has recently been provided, especially by the United States to the YPG and the PYD forces, continues. Such steps, which damage the balance in the region and the peace between its peoples, must be stopped,” Erdogan wrote in an op-ed piece for the Kommersant newspaper, dedicated to the agreement between Russia and Turkey on Syria’s Idlib.
Erdogan once again stated that Turkey attaches great importance to the liberation of areas controlled by the PYD and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). He also expressed hope that Russia would support Turkey in the fight against the PYD and the SDF, which are recognized as terrorist groups by Ankara, but not by Moscow.
“We also hope for Russia’s support in the struggle of Turkey with such terrorist organizations as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the PYD and the SDF, and I think our neighboring countries should have a common view of the circumstances threatening each other’s security,” Erdogan said.
Kurdish forces have been a key ally of United States in the fight against Islamic extremist group ISIS. However, Ankara has been wary of the US support to Kurds due to its historical conflict with the Kurdish forces.