Erdogan Describes US Arms Supply to Kurdish Militias as Main Threat to Turkey

Erdogan suggested that the three nations - Turkey, Iran and Russia - should pay attention to Kurdish militias in the Northeast of Syria, and the continued supply of arms to Kurds by the United States, arguing that this poses a major threat to his country’s national security.

“East of the River Euphrates, events are happening that concern us. Terrorists are trying to establish a foothold there with the help of foreign powers and stay there forever. We are very concerned with the attempts by the United States to empower and support those terrorist organizations,” the Turkish president said.

He added the threat posed by Kurdish militias requires Turkey to maintain its military presence in Northern Syria.

“We will in no way allow terrorist elements to gain strength near the border of our country. We will continue to take all necessary decisions as warranted by the sources and strength of the threat to us,” he stressed.

The Turkish leader also told his Russian and Iranian counterparts, Hassan Rouhani and Vladimir Putin, that the Tehran summit may be the last chance to resolve the situation in Syria’s Idlib in a peaceful manner.

With the help of Iran and Russia, the Syrian Army is preparing for the Idlib operation, a strategically-important region and last major stronghold of militants.

As Rouhani earlier argued that the continued presence of militants in Idlib province warrants a major military operation, Erdogan reiterated Ankara’s concerns about potential loss of civilian lives and a mass exodus of refugees from the area into Turkey, which could be triggered by such a military operation.

American support for the Kurds in Syria is one of several major points of contention between Turkey and the US, which have soured the relations between the two NATO allies in the past several years.

The US relationship with Turkey is hitting new lows every time Washington announces a new round of sanctions against its longstanding NATO ally. The two states have been at odds over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey.

As the war of words over the pastor escalated, US President Donald Trump doubled steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkish imports up to 50 and 20 percent, respectively. Ankara retaliated by raising tariffs on 22 American-made products, ranging from cars to tobacco and also filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the US move.

The US has also blocked the sale of American-made F-35s to Turkey in response to Ankara’s decision to purchase the Russian-made S-400 air defense system. However, Turkey intends to press ahead with the purchase, and already made the first payment for the system last year. Russian arms exporter Rosoboron export stated that the first batch of S-400 systems will be delivered to Turkey next year.

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