ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s EU minister dismissed claims on Wednesday that Turkey has reached a temporary ceasefire agreement with the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), insisting that it is impossible for Ankara to have any such agreement with what Turkey labels as a terrorist organization.
Omer Celik's dismissal comes after US officials said on Tuesday that a ceasefire had been reached between Turkey and the PYD to end clashes between their respective forces.
“The Republic of Turkey is an independent, lawful state,” Celik told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news. “To suggest it is on a par with a terrorist organization and suggest there are talks between them, that a deal has been reached between them, this is unacceptable.”
He was speaking a day after the spokesman for US Central Command, Colonel John Thomas, said that the US has been assured by Turkey and the Syrian Kurds that a ceasefire had been agreed upon.
“We have received assurance that all parties involved are going to stop shooting at each other and focus on the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) threat,” Thomas said on Tuesday.
“It’s a loose agreement for at least the next couple of days and we are hoping that will solidify," Thomas told AFP, calling the agreement "encouraging."
The US was alarmed after Turkey’s intervention in northwestern Syria, in the Jarablus region last week, quickly led to clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian militiamen and the PYD-led US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Turkey intervened in Syria against both ISIS and the PYD, arguing that both are threats and both should be confronted.
US officials urged both sides to stop the fighting and instead focus on fighting ISIS, their common enemy.
