Türkiye rejects US terrorism report for ‘deliberately distorting facts’

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye has rejected a new US State Department report on terrorism, saying it “deliberately distorts” Ankara’s fight against Kurdish and other “terrorist” groups.

“The 2021 Country Report on Terrorism deliberately distorts the fight against terrorist organizations that pose a direct threat to the security of our country,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a statement.

The US’s mention of the PKK’s Syria extension SDF as a “partner” in the fight against Daesh reveals that “the inaccuracy of the use of another terrorist organization in the fight against a terrorist organization has not been realized by the US authorities,” Bilgic said.

Ankara continues its fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK, the YPG/PYD, and Daesh/ISIS. It also considers Fetullah Gulen’s movement as a “terrorist” organization.

It is unacceptable to describe Ankara’s fight against the “Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)” — the group behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye — as “politically motivated” in the report, remarked Bilgic.

Türkiye expects the US to end FETO presence and activities in its country immediately, Bilgic said.

Bilgic called on the US to show solidarity with Ankara in accordance with “the spirit of allies, to take a principled, consistent, determined and effective approach in the fight against terrorism.”