Turkey dismisses Macron's Syria criticism, says he sponsors terrorism

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Turkey dismisses Macron's Syria criticism, says he sponsors terrorism

 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu attends the Istanbul Mediation Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2019. Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

 

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron's criticism of Turkey's offensive in Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia, saying the French leader sponsors terrorism.

 

"He is already the sponsor of the terrorist organisation and constantly hosts them at the Elysee. If he says his ally is the terrorist organisation... there is really nothing more to say," Cavusoglu said.

 

"Right now, there is a void in Europe, (Macron) is trying to be its leader, but leadership comes naturally," he told reporters in parliament.

 

Last month, Macron met Jihane Ahmed, the spokeswoman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of which the YPG is a big part, to express France's solidarity with them in their fight against Islamic State in Syria.

 

Turkey considers the YPG as a terrorist group and has been infuriated by the supports its allies have given the group. The Turkish assault, launched on Oct. 9, was condemned by Ankara's NATO allies, including France.

 

NATO SUMMIT

Earlier on Thursday, Macron said that Turkey could not expect solidarity from NATO allies when it launched its offensive in northeast Syria as a "fait accompli".

 

Ties between Turkey and France have been strained in recent years, but Macron and Cavusoglu's comments on Thursday highlight growing tensions ahead of NATO's 70th anniversary summit in London next week.

 

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Turkey was refusing to back a NATO defence plan for the Baltics and Poland until it got more political support for its fight against the YPG. On Wednesday, a Turkish source said the impasse stemmed from the United States' move to withdraw its support for a separate Turkey defence plan.

 

Asked about the stalemate, Cavusoglu said that NATO needed to act in a way that addresses the concerns of all its allies, but added that Ankara wanted to find a middle ground over the defence plan stalemate.

 

"We are not against this NATO plan for the Baltics. However, what is being requested for the Baltic countries should also be done for us. We are also allies," Cavusoglu said.

 

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Dominic Evans)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-29

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[Baerboxer]

 

Should be an interesting forthcoming NATO meeting in London then!

 

Might Macron start to realize he ain't the big cheese he thinks he is? Not making an impact in the world and trouble on top of trouble at home. Nah, he's far to arrogant to worry!

[Pedrogaz]

NATO allies, Turkey, the US and the UK all sponsor terrorism in the either directly with cash (like Isis), or with training and arming (Lise Isis and al-Qaeda) or with proving a safe haven and permitting illegal oil sales (like Turkey).

Macron is right about NATO. Frankly it has lost its moral compass as well as its usefulness. Now it functions as a marketing vehicle for US arms dealers....with the UK forking out 100 billion pounds for a Trident system it can ill afford and won't even have to firing codes for...the UK will have to secure US permission before Trident is fired. The world has gone insane.

[Nigel Garvie]

17 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

NATO allies, Turkey, the US and the UK all sponsor terrorism in the either directly with cash (like Isis), or with training and arming (Lise Isis and al-Qaeda) or with proving a safe haven and permitting illegal oil sales (like Turkey).

Macron is right about NATO. Frankly it has lost its moral compass as well as its usefulness. Now it functions as a marketing vehicle for US arms dealers....with the UK forking out 100 billion pounds for a Trident system it can ill afford and won't even have to firing codes for...the UK will have to secure US permission before Trident is fired. The world has gone insane.

Totally - right on. I would add though that Saudi Arabia and Qatar were leading financial sponsors of the terrorists. When the so called "Arab spring " uprising started in the streets of Homs, the Saudis apparently had AK47s in the protesters hands within a week. 

 

I just can't believe that we can't fire Trident without asking the US first, although I did hear this before. We must be stark raving nuts if that really is the case, we must be under really heavy blackmail, or our senior politicians have been bought.