Erdogan: Turkey Will Not Allow Kurds to Seize Northern Syria

The President of Turkey, criticizing those who support Kurdish armed forces in Syria, stated that Ankara will not allow the Kurds to 'seize' northern Syria. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his speech in southeastern Turkey on October 24, did not name the countries supporting the Syrian Kurds. At the same time, he severely criticized Russia for supporting the President of Syria. Erdogan stated, 'All that they (the Syrian Kurdish armed forces) want is to seize all of northern Syria.' He added, 'We will not allow northern Syria to become a victim of their plans under any circumstances, as this issue will be a threat to us, and for us as Turkey, submitting to such a threat is impossible.' The Turkish President's remarks came after Kurdish armed forces in Syria announced that the town of 'Tal Abyad' in Raqqa province, which borders Turkey, has joined areas under Kurdish control. The majority of the residents of this town are Sunni Arab Syrians, and the Kurds claim it will be administered 'autonomously.' Currently, the Syrian Kurds have established three autonomous regions in northern Syria, while denying the establishment of a country in these areas. Turkey has accused the political arm of the northern Syrian Kurds, the 'Democratic Union Party' (PYD), of having close ties with the 'PKK' and effectively considers the two as one. Turkey designates the PKK as a terrorist organization. Salih Muslim, the leader of the PYD, stated in a 2012 interview with Reuters that his party has no dealings with Turkey and its relationship with the PKK is only 'ideological.' The armed forces affiliated with the PYD, known as the 'People's Protection Units' (YPG), are among the most significant armed groups that have dealt blows to the group known as the 'Islamic State' in recent months. At the same time, Amnesty International, two weeks ago, accused the YPG of forced displacement and destruction of villages they have seized. The YPG has denied similar accusations. Recently, this group has formed an alliance with smaller groups of Syrian rebels opposing Assad and the 'Islamic State.' The United States has recently provided limited military assistance to this group via air drops. Erdogan criticized those who support the PYD without naming any specific country. At the same time, the Turkish President directly criticized Russia for supporting Bashar al-Assad and hosting him in Moscow. Erdogan questioned how one could 'roll out the red carpet for someone whose hands are stained with the blood of 370,000 people?' On the other hand, Russia and Iran, as the main allies of the Syrian President, claim that the army of that country and its allies are 'frontline fighters against terrorism.' The Syrian civil war has left over 250,000 casualties and millions of displaced persons in its wake.