Erdogan Threatens US Supply Weapons to Militia Kurdish

ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States to give more supply of weapons to Kurdish fighters in northern Syria this week. Erdogan argued, the US has sent two planes containing weapons for which Ankara described as terrorists.

Erdogan's comments in a speech in New York on Thursday (22/9) further add to tensions between Turkey and Washington related to US support for Kurdish YPG forces involved in operations against the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Turkey is a member of the US-led coalition in the fight against ISIS.

But the two countries have different views on the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters. Turkey considers Kurdish fighters and party PYD as an extension of Kurdish militants who have rebelled for three decades in Turkey

"If you think you can finish Daesh (ISIS) with the help of YPG and PYD, you can not, because they are a terrorist group as well," Erdogan said in comments broadcast on Turkish television.

"Three days ago The United States sent two aircraft contains arms in Ayn al-Arab to terror groups," he said, adding he has raised the issue with US Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday. But Biden said he did not know anything about this..

United States, which saw YPG as a major strategic partner in the fight against ISIS in Syria, had given weapons to these groups in the city with a majority of Kurds, Ayn al-Arab, in 2014. According to Erdogan, half of the weapons seized by ISIS fighters.

Ayn al-Arab besieged by ISIS for four months at the end of 2014. Jarabulus in the Syrian border town also was controlled by ISIS, before they were finally evicted after losing the Turkish military operation called "Efrat Shield".

This operation was originally designed to clean ISIS from Turkey's southern border areas, but the operation was tipped to bring the conflict between Turkish forces and the YPG and Syrian rebels.

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, ruling out the possibility of Turkey will join the US coalition in the military operation in the town of Raqqa if YPG and Kurdish fighters also took part.

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