Turkey to Stand Against All Terrorist Organizations: PM

Ankara, 17 Rabiul Akhir 1437/27 January 2016 (MINA) –  Turkey is determined to take a stand and fight against all terrorist organizations, whatever their reason or source is, Turkey’s prime minister said Tuesday.

Syria’s Kurds should be represented at the peace talks in Geneva scheduled for later this week, Ahmet Davutoglu said, Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) reported, quoting Anadolu Agency.

However, Davutoglu told Turkey opposed the involvement of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) or its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), in negotiations due to start Friday.

“Kurds’ attendance at the table is a necessity,” he told a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara.

“A negotiating table without Kurds would be incomplete. But we are definitely against the YPG and PYD, who inflict cruelty on Kurds also, sitting at the table.”

Davutoglu did not specify the Syrian Kurdish groups Ankara would accept in the UN-sponsored talks, which were delayed by disagreements over which opposition factions should participate.

However, he said it was unacceptable that a terrorist organization to attend the peace talks.

“The PYD cannot represent the Syrian people’s ‘true struggle’,” he added. “The result of cooperation with a regime that massacres against its own people, the natural consequence must be this.”

Turkey has repeatedly accused the PYD and its militias of cooperating with the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The PYD is affiliated to the PKK, which has fought Turkey since 1984 in a conflict that has caused more than 40,000 deaths. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.

The five-year civil war in Syria has seen more than 250,000 killed and led to more than 10.5 million fleeing their homes, according to the UN.  (T/P010/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)