30 March 2018•Update: 31 March 2018
ANKARA
The Syrian Turkmen Assembly (STA) on Friday condemned French support for the PYD/YPG terrorist group.
In a statement, STA leader Mohamed Wajih Joma blasted recent statements by the French president in which he appeared to voice support for the PYD/YPG/YPJ.
Joma described the statements from Paris as an attempt to “legitimize the terrorist group using different names”.
The French decision to send forces to Syria’s Manbij to support the terrorist group, he added, was “an insult to the Syrian people”.
Support for these groups, Joma added, amounted to “a betrayal of the Syrian people, who are awaiting salvation from terrorism and injustice”.
The French presidency’s statements, he went on, were tantamount to “pouring fuel on the fire” in Syria.
“These unfortunate French statements, the U.S. initiative that preceded it, and the recent establishment of the so-called ‘Syrian Future Party’ in territories occupied by the PYD/YPG/PKK -- with the support of the Western powers -- is significant,” Joma said.
The STA also called on Paris and Washington to immediately halt their support for the terrorist group.
“The Syrian people are the true owners of this land; only they have the right to decide the country’s fate,” Joma asserted.
According to a Thursday statement released by the Elysee Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron, at a recent meeting with a PYD/PKK-led delegation of the so-called “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF), stressed “France’s commitment against the PKK and its commitment to the security of Turkey”.
However, as Turkey has documented, the PYD/PKK -- along with and SDF -- represent the Syrian affiliates of the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey and the EU.
Macron also claimed that the SDF had “no operational link with this terrorist group”, in reference to the PKK, going on to call for “dialogue” between the SDF and Turkey “with the assistance of France and the international community”.
Ankara has already amply demonstrated, however, that the SDF is comprised largely of PYD/PKK cadres.
During its 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK has killed some 40,000 people.
Ankara has repeatedly warned international actors against cooperating with groups such as the PYD/PKK, the YPG/PKK and the SDF/PKK, saying all of them represent the PKK under different guises.
