Erdogan says the US is supplying weapons to Kurdish militias in Syria
The US has supplied thousands of truckloads of ammunition to Kurdish armed formations in Syria in recent years, Anadolu reports quoting Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
“We are deeply upset by the fact that Türkiye’s NATO ally has supplied thousands of truckloads of ammunition and weapons to areas in Syria where terrorists are operating in recent years,” Erdogan said.
The president noted that “this course has continued since the presidency of Barack Obama, continued under Donald Trump and remains unchanged under Joe Biden.”
According to the Turkish leader, Ankara has made Washington aware of its concerns over the Syrian issue.
“I personally raised the issue in conversations with Obama, Trump and further Biden, saying that if we are NATO allies and partners, we should be aware that American support for terrorists in Syria forms a threat to Türkiye’s southern borders. We warned that we would be forced to retaliate if necessary,” Erdogan stressed.
According to him, the US side has nothing to respond to Ankara.
“We will continue to act as Türkiye’s national security requires. There will be no concessions! Because any change of position is fraught with problems for our country,” Erdogan assured.
Earlier, the Turkish Defence Ministry announced the start of the “Sword Claw” air operation against Kurdish formations in northern Syria and Iraq. According to the ministry, the terrorists are using the northern territories of these countries as bases for attacks on Türkiye.