Ankara demands that Washington end its support for the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria – RT in French

As Turkey raises the specter of a ground military intervention in northern Syria, Ankara calls on Washington to cease its support for the Kurdish group YPG, after its appeal for restraint. Moscow is also calling for de-escalation.

Turkey demanded on November 22 that its allies, led by the United States, “stop all support” for the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish militia in Syria, considered terrorist by Ankara, but which was supported by Washington to counter Daesh.

“We affirm to all our interlocutors, the United States in particular, that the YPG is equivalent to the PKK [Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan, reconnu comme terroriste par la Turquie et ses alliés occidentaux]and we forcefully demand of them that all support for terrorists cease,” said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on November 22.

Moscow and Washington call for de-escalation

Earlier on November 22, the United States had called for “de-escalation” in Syria, in reaction to the remarks of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who on November 21 threatened a ground operation in the north of the country after a series air raids against Kurdish positions in Syria and Iraq and rocket attacks on Turkish soil from Syrian territory.

This could backfire and further complicate the security situation.

Ankara accuses the PKK and the YPG of being behind the attack which killed six people and injured 81 on November 13 in Istanbul, which the two groups have denied.

“We call for de-escalation in Syria to protect civilians and support the common goal of defeating” Daesh, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. “We continue to oppose any uncoordinated military action in Iraq that violates Iraq’s sovereignty,” he added.

Russia also wanted, on November 22, that Turkey show “restraint” and refrain from “any excessive use of force” in Syria. “We understand Turkey’s concerns about its own security […] But at the same time, we call on all parties to refrain from any initiative that could lead to a serious destabilization of the global situation,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“It could backfire and further complicate the security situation,” he added.

The Turkish Air Force launched Operation “Sword Claw” on November 20, a series of raids that targeted PKK and YPG positions in northern Iraq and Syria. According to a report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), a controversial body based in London, 37 people, including 18 members of the Syrian government forces, lost their lives in these raids. Rocket fire from Syria killed two people on November 21 in the Turkish city of Karkamis (southeast).