We reject, in terms of both substance and language, the remarks made by US Secretary of State Pompeo in an interview given to an online news channel yesterday (3 January) about Turkey in relation to Syria. Secretary Pompeo’s identification of the PYD/YPG terrorist organization with Kurds, if not deliberate, indicates a worrying lack of information.

Turkey is determined to continue its fight against PKK/PYD/YPG and DAESH terrorist organizations which pose existential threat to its national security and target the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria. Misrepresenting Turkey’s fight against a terrorist organization as an attempt to target a particular group in Syria is totally unacceptable, given that Turkey embraces the entire Syrian people, including Kurds. We strongly condemn treating a terrorist organization as a partner in fighting DAESH.

Turkey will continue to safeguard the rights of the Syrian Kurds both in its fight against terrorism and in its efforts for finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict. It should be recalled that Turkey is currently hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian Kurds who fled the oppression of PYD/YPG and cannot return to their own lands because of PYD/YPG’s pressure.