Erdogan and Trump relaunch US-Turkey friendship. Divisions over Kurds remain
The Turkish leader confirms his hostility towards Kurdish militias, which he terms "terrorist organizations". For Washington, they represent a key ally in the struggle against the Islamic State. The Turkish leader renews request for extradition of the Islamic preacher Gülen, considered mastermind of a coup.
Washington (AsiaNews / Agencies) - "There is no place for terrorist organizations in the future of our region." With these words, pronounced at the end of the meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the distances with Washington over the Kurdish question. At the end of face to face talks yesterday, the Ankara leader stressed that he would "never accept" an alliance of the United States with the Kurdish forces fighting in Syria.
President Erdogan was referring to the Kurdish YGP militias (Peoples Protection Unit), which the United States recently decided to supply with a new load of weapons. Washington sees the Kurdish fighters as a key ally in the struggle against the Islamic State (IS) in north-east Syria.
In spite of remaining distances over the Kurds, the two leaders have confirmed the will to strengthen bilateral relations and strategic alliance within NATO. "We have had great relations in the past - said Trump - and they will be even better in the future." The aim is to expand bilateral cooperation between the two countries and "work together to counter terrorism in all its forms".
Erdogan insisted on the Kurdish question, defining the definition of the YGP militia as “a regional partner” as “absolutely unacceptable" and in direct contrast "with the global agreement".
Ankara considers the YGP militias an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an outlawed group that has been fighting for independence in the southeast of the country for years. Instead the United States' view that Kurdish militias as separate to the Pkk and a fundamental ally in the war against the Syrian jihadists.
During the meeting yesterday, the Turkish leader also dealt with the issue of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülenin exile in Pennsylvania (United States). According to President Erdogan and the leaders of government he is the mastermind of the coup in Turkey, in which 270 people died, and thousands were injured. Ankara, which launched a massive campaign of internal repression with hundreds of thousands of arrests and detentions, calls for Gülen's extradition. For his part the Islamic preacher has always rejected allegations of having framed the failed coup.
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04/09/2018 10:16
