Ankara: Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the French ambassador to condemn the French Senate for hosting members of two Syrian Kurdish groups that Ankara considers calls “terrorists.”
The ministry officials told Herve Magro, French ambassador to Türkiye, that Ankara “strongly condemns” the French Senate’s hosting of the members of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), and its awarding them with “medals of honor,” semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted anonymous Turkish foreign ministry sources as saying.
Ankara expects French authorities “not to give credit to efforts that provide international legitimacy” to these groups, said the sources.
Türkiye asked French authorities for “support for the security of its borders and the Turkish people, as well as the protection of Syria’s unity and territorial integrity, and show solidarity in line with the spirit of alliance,” the sources said.
Ankara considers the YPG to be the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.
France’s support for the Kurdish militants in Syria flares tensions between Ankara and Paris for the past several years. France is an outspoken critic of the Turkish incursions into Syria.
