Turkey to respond to ‘all kinds of terrorist threat,’ vows presidential spokesperson

ANKARA

Turkey will respond to all kinds of terror threat emanating from Syria or any other country, presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said on July 1, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Kalın vowed that Turkey will continue to take “all necessary measures” to protect its national security and its borders, referring to the recent harassment fire on Turkish forces from areas held by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Afrin, northwestern Syria. 

His comments followed reports about Turkey deploying military troops to the border near Afrin last week. 

“Any threat that may come from Syria or another country towards Turkey - this could be from Daesh, the PYD/YPG, whatever terrorist organization it is - Turkey is responding immediately with all reprisals,” Kalın said. 

He also condemned U.S. support provided to the PYD and its armed wing, the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 

“It is impossible for us to consent to the support that U.S. provides to the YPG within the context of the Raqqa operation against Daesh terror,” Kalın said.

“Such support amounts to support given to the PKK terror organization. Everyone knows this. The double standard in the fight against terrorism is not acceptable. Be careful because those terror organizations, which today you apply double standards towards, will one day also hit you,” he said. 

Ankara sees the PYD and the YPG as being organically linked to the PKK and has repeatedly called on its allies to cease cooperating with them. 

The PKK is outlawed by the U.S., but Washington believes the YPG is the most effective fighting force against ISIL in Syria, thus causing tensions between the NATO allies.