Erdogan slams US comment on Kurds

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday slammed as a grave mistake comments by White House national security adviser John Bolton over the Syrian Kurdish militia, highlighting tensions between Ankara and Washington.

Erdogan’s comments came after Bolton held more than two hours of talks in the Turkish capital with Erdogan’s adviser Ibrahim Kalin, to discuss the surprise US decision to withdraw troops from Syria.

“It is not possible to accept Bolton’s message from Israel,” Erdogan told his party’s lawmakers in parliament.

Tensions erupted ahead of the Ankara talks after Bolton said on Sunday in Israel the retreat was also conditional on the safety of US-backed Kurdish fighters, considered terrorists by Turkey.

A furious Erdogan said: “John Bolton has made a grave mistake on this issue.”

US President Donald Trump caused a political storm in December when he announced the troop pullout because the battle against the Islamic State (IS) group had been won.

“President Trump made the right call to withdraw from Syria,” Erdogan said in a column in the New York Times, outlining Turkey’s “comprehensive strategy” to eliminate the causes of radicalisation.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo also drew the wrath of Turkey when he said Washington will ensure Ankara does not “slaughter” Kurds in Syria as US troops withdraw.

Erdogan said on Tuesday: “That Turkey targets the Kurds is the most vile, the most dishonourable, the ugliest and the cheapest slander.”

Bolton held “productive” talks with Kalin on how the withdrawal would take place.