Nilay Kar
February 19, 2016•Update: February 19, 2016
ISTANBUL
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted Friday that Wednesday’s Ankara bomb attack was carried out by the PYD and its armed wing, the YPG.
"The perpetrator of the incident, however, they have not claimed responsibility, is the PYD and YPG," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.
A car bomb exploded in the Turkish capital near military vehicles carrying personnel Wednesday evening, killing at least 28 people.
Erdogan criticized western countries over their stance on these organizations:
"While the EU countries are declaring the PKK to be a terror organization, why are you still not declaring the PYD and YPG as a terror organization? Declare them as well," he said.
"What do you want else from us? We are providing you all the documents, information, whatever you want [about these organizations]," the president added.
In response to a question on U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby's recent remarks over the Ankara attack, Erdogan said that he would have a phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama at 05.00 p.m. local time [1500 GMT].
“We will evaluate all of these [Kirby’s recent remarks] during the call," he said.
Kirby has previously said: "We don't, as you know, recognize the PYD as a terrorist organization."
"We’re in no position to confirm or deny the assertions made by the Turkish Government with respect to responsibility [for the Ankara blast]," Kirby also said during a press briefing Thursday, adding: "As far as we know, that’s -- as far as we’re concerned -- that’s still an open question."
The U.S. has neither confirmed nor denied the YPG’s responsibility for Wednesday's deadly terror attack.
Turkey considers the PKK, PYD and YPG to be terror outfits but the U.S. designates only the PKK as a terrorist organization and regards the YPG as a "reliable partner" in northern Syria fighting Daesh.
