Turkish officials made a series
of furious condemnations against the U.S. spanning virtually every top official
in the Erdogan government.
Erdogan, complained
that as a NATO member, the US should be supporting them, and not the “terrorist
organization YPG.” Turkey considers the YPG and indeed virtually every Kurdish
organization terroristic.
Prime Minister
Binali Yildirim warned that the US would face negative
consequences for
arming the Kurds, and other officials accused the US of being too willing to
work with terrorists. Defense Secretary James Mattis downplayed this, saying
the US would quickly resolve Turkish concerns.
That’s
hugely unlikely, given Turkey’s long-standing hostility to Kurds in general,
and Kurdish factions with an eye on autonomy in particular. This is likely to
be the major topic of discussion during President Erdogan’s visit to the US
later this month.Turkish officials have in the past suggested expelling the US
from Turkish airbases used in the war against ISIS to punish them for moves
they consider as running contrary to Turkish interests.
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