Omer Celik, the spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP), on Tuesday rejected claims that Turkey was a threat to Kurds and said that Turkey was the Kurds' "only friend.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th January, 2019) Omer Celik, the spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP), on Tuesday rejected claims that Turkey was a threat to Kurds and said that Turkey was the Kurds' "only friend."His remark followed recent statements by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who cited "the importance of ensuring that the Turks don't slaughter the Kurds" after US troops withdrawal from Syria, and US National Security Adviser John Bolton, who voiced need to ensure that Turkey would not attack Syrian Kurdish forces following the withdrawal.
"No one can teach the Republic of Turkey lessons about protecting our Kurdish brothers. The Republic of Turkey is the biggest, even the only friend of the Kurds," Celik told reporters, as quoted by Anadolu.
He then rejected any accusations leveled at Turkey and concerns over its treatment of Kurds.
"Those who tell Turkey 'don't touch Kurds' should look in the mirror and remember their oppression of Kurds," Celik emphasized.
The spokesman went on to say that Turkey was ready to cooperate with the United States, qualifying US interactions with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara, as a "great failure."
Both Pompeo and Bolton are aware that the PKK is a terrorist group, Celik stressed.
In December 2018, US President Donald Trump said that the US forces, with their numbers amounting to around 2,000, would leave Syria since the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) had been defeated there. Later, the White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said that the United States began withdrawing troops from Syria, but a victory over the IS did not mean the end to the existence of the coalition.
Relations between Washington and Ankara have been strained over US support of Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have been also controlling Syrian territories, as Turkey regards the Syrian Kurdish units as part of the outlawed separatist PKK.
