Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.6/ Trend, A.Taghiyeva /
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad supports the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party, hoping that there will be problems for Turkey as a result of it, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish TV channel ATV on Monday.
He said the PKK members, supported by Assad regime, try to infiltrate into Turkish territory. Thus, about 200 members of the terrorist organization, attempting to infiltrate into Turkey and organize terrorist attacks there, were promptly detained and rendered harmless.
Erdogan said that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's visit to the Kurdish autonomy was aimed at addressing terrorism issue.
"In talks with the Kurdish administration, we gave them to understand that if the PKK terrorist organization receives support from them, then friendly relations between Turkey and autonomy will end," he said.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has lasted for over 25 years. The PKK is recognised as a terrorist organisation by both the UN and the EU.
Following the June 27 report that the armed detachments of the Kurdistan Workers' Party took control over northern Syria, the Turkish Army was alerted, and additional troops and military equipment were deployed on the border with Syria.
According to UN, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria has exceeded 17,000 people. About 230,000 people became refugees. About three million people is in need of humanitarian assistance. The Syrian authorities say that they oppose the well-armed militants.