On Wednesday, Turkey said that it will not hesitate to take action in the Afrin district in Syria if the U.S. did not withdraw their support for the Kurdish-led force. The U.S. denied that such plans are in motion and said “some people misspoke.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, was strict and warned that military action will be taken in Afrin after Washington stated that it will set up a new 30,000 strong border force together with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that are led by the Kurdish YPG militia.
Turkey considers the Syrian YPG as a part of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group which has been causing problems in southeast Turkey for more than 30 years. The European Union, the U.S. and Turkey consider PKK a terrorist group.
Reuters reported that Bekir Bozdag the Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesman said that the U.S. backed border force poses a threat to Turkey’s national security, territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens.
“We emphasized that such a step was very wrong, Turkey has reached the limits of its patience. Nobody should expect Turkey to show more patience,” Bozdag said.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responded to Turkey’s comments saying that the U.S. has no intention of building a border force and the whole noise about the issue has been “misportrayed and misdescribed.”
“Some people misspoke. We are not creating a border security force at all. I think it’s unfortunate that comments made by some left that impression. That is not what we’re doing,” Tillerson commented.
He added that they have explained to Turkish officials that the U.S. intentions are only ”to ensure that local elements are providing security to liberated areas.”
According to Reuters, the Pentagon said in an earlier statement it was training “internally focused” Syrian fighters with a goal of preventing the Islamic State group’s resurgence and ensuring Syrians displaced by the war could return to their communities.
“We are keenly aware of the security concerns of Turkey, our coalition partner and NATO ally. Turkey’s security concerns are legitimate,” it said.
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