Turkey exploits Sweden and Finland request to join NATO to its interest- Mazloum Abdi
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on Wednesday that Turkey is exploiting the Ukrainian crisis and Sweden and Finland’s request to join NATO in its interest.
This came during an online press conference with Swedish and international media, about the request of Sweden and Finland to join NATO and Turkey’s terms for approving them to join the NATO .
“So far, we have not seen any change in the attitude of Sweden towards the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES),” Abdi said.
Abdi expressed its gratitude to Sweden and Finland for their moral and political support in their war against ISIS.
Abdi hoped that the two countries would continue to provide support for the SDF in fighting ISIS.
Regarding the two countries’ request to join NATO and the Turkish terms, Abdi said: “This is an internal affair and we respect this decision, but Turkey is exploiting the Russian-Ukrainian war and Sweden and Finland’s request to join NATO in its interest.”
Abdi explained that they take the Turkish threats seriously, and they are preparing to enter any possible confrontation.
President Tayyip Erdogan said on June 1 that Turkey will launch a military operation in northern Syria’s Tal Rifaat and Manbij areas, confirming the targets of the new incursion for the first time and saying it will continue into other regions.
The SDF commander in Chief said that the sky of the region (Tel Rifaat and Manbij), which Turkey threatens to invade, is controlled by Russia and there are many forces in these regions.
Abdi said that they do not want to engage in any battles in the region, warning of the displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents of the region if Turkey implemented its threats.
Talking about US attitude towards the recent developments, Abdi said: “We believe that the position of the administration of the US President Joe Biden is better than the positions of the administration of former President Donald Trump.”