Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses during an award ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016. Turkey on Thursday rejected Washington's denials that it has provided weapons to a Syrian Kurdish militia force which Ankara considers to be a terrorist group and again complained about a lack of support from the U.S.-led coalition to its offensive against the Islamic State group in northern Syria. (Yasin Bulbul, Presidential Press Service, Pool photo via AP) (The Associated Press)
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey has rejected Washington's denials that it has provided weapons to a Syrian Kurdish militia force which Ankara considers to be a terrorist group.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday: "The United States has provided arms to the YPG — period."
He was responding to a U.S. Embassy statement a day earlier which said the U.S. had not "provided weapons or explosives to the YPG or the PKK — period."
Turkey views the U.S.-backed People's Protection Units, or YPG, as a terrorist organization because of its links to Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also rebuffed the U.S. denials and called on Washington to side with its ally.
Erdogan said: "Aren't we partners in NATO? Why are you supporting a terror organization and not us?"
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