US activities with PKK terror group affiliates in Syria threaten Ankara, Turkish president says
On downing of Turkish drone by US, Recep Tayyip Erdogan says: 'How can we be together in NATO and do something like this?'
ISTANBUL
The US' activities with affiliates of the PKK terror group in Syria pose an extraordinary threat to Türkiye's national security, the Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Speaking at the annual Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum in Istanbul, Erdogan criticized the downing of a Turkish drone in Syria by the US.
"How can we be together in NATO and do something like this?" he said.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU — has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The PKK's Syrian offshoot in Syria is known as the YPG.
Erdogan also highlighted Türkiye's deep relations with African peoples going back to the 10th century, underlining that Africa has a special place for the Turkish nation and the country's foreign policy.
On the Russia-Ukraine war and suspension of the Black Sea grain deal in July, Erdogan pointed to Türkiye's efforts since the beginning of the conflict in February last year to secure peace.
"Since the beginning of the war, we worked and continue working for peace," he said, adding that with the grain deal, Türkiye wants to "help by preventing the deepening of the food crisis" in the world.
"As the initiative was underway, 33 million tons of grain were transported securely through our straits," Erdogan said, pointing out that African people had not benefited from the grain shipments as much as Türkiye had desired.
Last year, the UN and Türkiye brokered the deal that allowed Ukraine to ship grain via the Black Sea and succeeded in bringing down global food prices.
Russia refused to extend the grain deal, complaining that the West had not met its obligations and that there were still restrictions on its own food and fertilizer exports. Moscow was particularly critical of the restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance.
Amid efforts to continue Ukrainian agricultural exports after the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal in July, Kyiv and its partners have been looking for land routes to reach world markets from the war-ravaged country.
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