ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s president told journalists that Ankara remains committed to rooting out a Syrian Kurdish militia from northern Syria. “Like I always say, we’ll come down on them suddenly one night.
Highlights
- Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at a Turkish Technology and Aviation festival, held abroad for the first time, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, May 28, 2022.
- Without giving a specific timeline, Erdogan said that Turkey would launch a cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers a terrorist group linked to an outlawed Kurdish group that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984.
- The YPG forms the backbone of U.S.-led forces in the fight against the Islamic State group.
- American support for the group has infuriated Ankara and remains a major issue in their relations.
- Turkey considers the PKK and the YPG to be one and the same.