3 yıl önce

'Fight against Daesh can't be won with another terrorist group's help'

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu highlights Ankara's "unwavering fight" against all terrorist groups at a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh in Marrakech.

AA

Türkiye has for years objected to the US arming and supporting the YPG/PKK terrorist group.

The fight against Daesh cannot be won with the help of another terrorist group, such as the YPG/PKK, Türkiye's foreign minister has said.

Attending a ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh in Marrakech, Morocco, Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter on Wednesday that he has told fellow coalition members about Türkiye's "unwavering fight" against all terrorist organisations.

Though Cavusoglu did not single out any country, Türkiye has for years objected to the US arming and supporting the YPG/PKK terrorist group just south of its borders.

Washington has argued that it uses the YPG/PKK to fight Daesh terrorists, but Ankara says using one terror group to fight another makes no sense.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK - listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and EU - has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Regional issues

The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

Türkiye was one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terror group.

Since it took the step in 2013, the country has been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with 315 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed assaults.

In response, Türkiye launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.

At the meeting, which brought together over 60 countries, Cavusoglu said he held talks with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, on the preparations for NATO's Madrid Summit in late June, along with bilateral relations and the current situation in Ukraine.

He said he also discussed bilateral relations in a separate meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Anniken Huitfeldt, as well as regional developments, particularly Palestine, Syria, and Ukraine.

SOURCE: AA