Turkey warns US, Russia against backing Kurdish militia in Syria

Turkey has warned the United States and Russia that it will not tolerate Kurdish territorial gains by Kurdish militia close to its frontiers in northwestern Syria, two senior officials said.

"This is clear-cut for us and there is no joking about it," one official said of the possibility of Syrian Kurdish militia crossing the Euphrates to extend control along Turkish borders from Iraq's Kurdistan region towards the Mediterranean coast.

Turkey fears advances by Kurdish militia, Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), backed by its political wing, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), on the Syrian side of its 900-kilometer (560-mile) border will fuel separatist ambitions among Kurds in its own southeastern territories. But Washington has supported YPG fighters as an effective force in combating Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

• "The PYD has been getting closer with both the United States and Russia of late. We view the PYD as a terrorist group and we want all countries to consider the consequences of their cooperation," one of the Turkish officials said.

• Turkey suspects Russia, which launched air strikes in Syria two weeks ago, has also been lending support to the YPG and PYD.

"With support from Russia, the PYD is trying to capture land between Jarablus and Azaz, going west of the Euphrates. We will never accept this," the official said.

He said Turkey had raised its concerns at high-level meetings with the US, European Union and Russia........http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkey-warns-us-russia-against-backing-kurdish-militia-in-syria_401404.html
13/10/15
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