US forces must leave areas of Syria east of Euphrates River: Erdogan
ANKARA (AA) – The US needs to withdraw its forces from regions of Syria east of the Euphrates River, as part of the Astana peace process for Syria, the Turkish president has said.
“America has to leave east of the Euphrates now. This is an outcome that came out of the Astana process,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one day after an Astana process summit with the Russian and Iranian presidents, stressing that his Astana partners agree with this judgement.
“Türkiye expects this as well because it is America that feeds the terrorist groups there,” Erdogan said, referring to the PKK/YPG.
Erdogan said a new military operation against these groups will be on the table as long as Ankara’s longstanding concerns have not been met.
“You see that the American (military) staff there train members of the terrorist organization (YPG/PKK),” he continued.
“During this training, they are waving the flag of the regime there. Why?”
He added: “Their job is to commit a terrorist act against the Turkish soldiers there. Here, too, they think if they are deceiving the Turkish army by waving the regime’s flag there. We won’t be fooled.”
Türkiye has long criticized the US working with the YPG/PKK supposedly against ISIS, saying that using one violent group to fight another makes no sense.
Erdogan also said Türkiye will not have positive attitude toward NATO bids of Sweden and Finland, unless they meet promises on fighting terrorism.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
