Turkey FM: US Issuing Conflicting Statements Over Syrian Kurdish YPG

Turkey is distancing itself from the United States as a simmering feud over the Syrian Kurdish fighters has sparked a war of words between Ankara and Washington, says an American military analyst. Turkey blamed the Syrian militia group as well as Turkey’s own Kurdish rebels for Wednesday…

Erdogan said he was saddened by the West’s refusal to call the PYD and YPG terrorists and would explain to Obama by phone how weapons provided by the United States had aided them.

Washington and Ankara have been split on the use of Syrian Kurdish militias against the Islamic State since the terrorist group emerged as a global threat in 2014. However, Davutoglu said that did not rule out the responsibility of the YPG, calling the TAK a “proxy” that claimed the bombing to shield the worldwide reputation of the Syrian Kurdish fighters. Turkey was quick to classify the blast as a terrorist attack and placed the blame on a member of YPG, the Kurdish fighting force in Syria, and PKK members operating in Turkey. The group, supported by the U.S.in the support against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, rejected any involvement in the attack.

Turkey has also been helping efforts led by the USA to combat ISIL in neighbouring Syria, and has faced several deadly bombings in the past year that were blamed on the extremist group.

Turkey outlawed and has for decades been fighting the PKK, which operates in northern Iraq and southern Turkey and wants Kurdish autonomy from Ankara.

“My friend Kerry said the YPG can not be trusted”, Cavusoglu said, speaking to reporters in Tbilisi, Georgia on Friday. “We were glad to hear from John Kerry yesterday that his views on the YPG have partly changed”.

TAK also said they will continue to make similar attacks in Turkey and warned foreign tourists against visiting popular holiday destinations, as they threaten to “destroy” the country’s tourism sector.

The army has continued to shell YPG targets across the border near the rebel-held town of Azaz.

“It has been determined with certainty that this attack was carried out by members of the separatist terror organization PKK, together with a member of the YPG who infiltrated from Syria”, said the Turkish premier. “When you look at some statements coming from America, conflicting and confused statements are still coming”, he said.

An attack Wednesday on a Turkish military convoy in Ankara killed at least 28 and wounded dozens.

Ankara was hit by a suicide bomb on February 17 that left 28 people – 20 of them military personnel – dead and 81 people injured.

“We’re in no position to confirm or deny the assertions made by the Turkish government with respect to responsibility”.