Turkey paying price for US alliance with Syrian Kurdish militia says Defence Minister

Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdish PKK militant group
Reuters | January 06, 2017

Turkey's Defence Minister Fikri Isik answers a question during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, Turkey. PHOTO: REUTERS

ANKARA:
Turkey and the region are paying the price for the United States choosing the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia as a partner in the fight against Islamic State, Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Friday.


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 Speaking to broadcaster Haberturk, Isik said that Washington was giving weapons to YPG militia, which Ankara sees as a hostile force, but added that it would be too much to say that it is doing it on purpose and to trigger terrorism in Turkey.

Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdish PKK militant group, which has claimed or been blamed for a series of deadly attacks in Turkey, the most recent a car bombing in the western city of Izmir which killed two people on Thursday.
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