Turkish Ministry of Interior: U.S. has met with PKK in Syria
Northern Syria – North-Press Agency
The Turkish Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu has accused US officials of meeting with members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside Syria about two weeks ago, as he claimed.
Turkey considers the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as an “existential threat to its national security” as accusing it of connections to PKK, which Turkey has fought for decades.
Turkey has threatened more than once to mobilize militarily toward SDF’s control areas, but the US and Western presence among the Global Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) has prevented them from stepping into this adventure.
Soylu said during his participation in an interview on the channel “Experturk” on Tuesday, that he is aware of the details of the meeting, which took place about 14 days ago in Syria, and was attended by unnamed US officials.
He pointed out that Turkey knows the US officials who had participated in the meeting, and the names of participants from the mentioned organization, and is aware of the content of the meeting without disclosing it, according to Anadolu Agency report.
Furthermore, the Turkish minister Suleyman Soylu said that his country knows who is behind the PKK organization, and that it is aware of the reason behind Washington’s presence in northeastern Syria, and the reason why the world’s countries rush to find itself a foothold in that region, without revealing any further details.
Earlier, Washington has warned Turkey of any unilateral military operation in the eastern Euphrates region of northern Syria, and has stressed that it would prevent any unilateral Turkish assault against northeastern Syria that would affect the common interests of the United States, Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in a statement to reporters accompanying him on his visit to Japan: “We have no intention of abandoning them” (referring to the SDF).