U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has called on Turkey to cease artillery strikes targeting Syrian Kurdish forces in northern Syria, while voicing support for the country’s fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“The vice president [Biden] noted U.S. efforts to discourage Syrian Kurdish forces from exploiting current circumstances to seize additional territory near the Turkish border, and urged Turkey to show reciprocal restraint by ceasing artillery strikes in the area,” a statement issued by the White House said, following a phone conversation between Biden and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Feb. 13, during which the Turkish leader informed the U.S. leader about Turkey’s concerns on the issue.
- According to the statement, Biden and Davutoğlu also pledged to work together on protecting displaced people in northwest Syria and ensuring routes to Aleppo remained open for humanitarian aid.
Biden also stressed the U.S. support in Turkey’s fight against the PKK, as well as ISIL militants.
“The vice president expressed support for Turkey’s fight against PKK terrorism and the two leaders reaffirmed their shared goal of defeating ISIL and to work towards a cessation of hostilities, as agreed in Munich [on Feb. 12],” the statement added.
[hurriyetdailynews.com]
14/2/16
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Turkey will no longer be in a “defensive position” over maintaining its national security interests amid developments in Syria, Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan has said, after the Turkish army shelled Democratic Union Party (PYD) militias across the border...
ReplyDelete“Can any team play defensively at all times but still win a match? … You can win nothing by playing defensively and you can lose whatever you have. There is a very dynamic situation in the region and one has to read this situation properly. One should not become withdrawn because of concerns and fears,” Akdoğan told private broadcaster Kanal 7 on Feb. 14.
His words followed Turkey’s shelling of militias from the PYD in Syria, an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).....hurriyetdailynews.com