France could be targeted: Turkey

Turkey said on Friday that a French pledge to help stabilise a region of northern Syria controlled by Kurdish-dominated forces amounted to support for terrorism and could make France a “target of Turkey”.

French backing for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, has angered Ankara at a time when it is fighting the YPG in northern Syria and considers it a terrorist organisation.

President Tayyip Erdogan said France had taken a “completely wrong approach” on Syria, adding that he exchanged heated words with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, last week.

The split with France is the latest rift between Turkey under Erdogan and its Nato allies in the West.

Turkey has long complained about US support for the SDF, among a number of irritants to ties with the leading Nato power. Last year it compared the German and Dutch authorities to Nazis for restricting pro-Erdogan demonstrations during a campaign for a referendum to give him greater powers.

The White House said President Donald Trump, who added fresh uncertainty on Thursday when he said that the US would be “coming out of Syria” very soon, spoke to Erdogan on Friday “to discuss regional developments and the strategic partnership between the United States and Turkey”. REUTERS

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