Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 14
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The US should decide on its allies in the region and make a choice between Turkey and the PYD/YPG terrorists, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, Turkish media reported Sept. 14.
The US should know that PYD and YPG are terrorist groups that are the Syrian wings of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which poses a real threat to Turkey's security, he noted.
“Just like in the US, the PKK is also recognized as a terrorist group in the EU, and the US should take this into account,” Cavusoglu added.
On June 16, then prime minister, Binali Yildirim, said that Turkey and the US signed a 90-day agreement on the withdrawal of the PYD/YPG units from Syria’s Manbij.
"If the PYD/YPG terrorists don’t leave Manbij, Turkey will launch a military operation in the city, as it was done earlier in Afrin and in the al-Bab district," he noted.
On June 4, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed a road map on Manbij during talks in Washington.
Earlier, Pompeo and Cavusoglu met in Brussels and discussed the Operation Olive Branch, as well as other issues.
On Jan. 20, the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria.
On Aug. 24, 2016, units of the Turkish Armed Forces began the Operation Euphrates Shield against the "Islamic State" and with the support of the Syrian opposition liberated the border town of Jarablus in northern Syria, as well as al-Bab.
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