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US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaks during a joint press conference with his Philippines counterpart at the Department of Defense in Manila on November 19, 2019. Photo: AFP / Ted Aljibe
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – US Defense Secretary Mark Esper asserted Tuesday that he would not support Turkey’s attempt to have NATO recognize the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units (YPG) as a terrorist group, as Ankara tries to garner organization member support for its offensive in northern Syria.
Turkey wants NATO to recognize the YPG - the backbone of the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - as terrorists, in order to cut the support it receives from the international community in its counter-Islamic State (ISIS) efforts in war-torn Syria.
Asked by Reuters whether Washington would agree to label the YPG as a terrorist organization, Esper said: “I wouldn’t support that.”
“We’re going to stick to our positions, and I think NATO will as well,” Esper said.
Ankara’s campaign to have the Kurdish forces recognized as a terrorist group comes a day after Turkish forces shelled the town of Tel Rifaat in northwest Syria on Monday afternoon. At least ten civilians were killed, including eight children and an elderly man.
Ahead of NATO talks in London, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that Ankara would not support the organization’s plan to strengthen the defense of Baltic countries and Poland against any possible threats from neighboring Russia, if they do not recognize the YPG as terrorists.
NATO envoys need formal approval by all 29 members for the plan to go ahead.
"If our friends at NATO do not recognize as terrorist organizations those we consider terrorist organizations ... we will stand against any step that will be taken there.”
Esper, however, called on Ankara to focus on the larger-scale challenges NATO member states are facing.
“The message to Turkey ... is we need to move forward on these response plans and it can’t be held up by their own particular concerns,” Esper said as he flew to London.
“Alliance unity, alliance readiness, means that you focus on the bigger issues – the bigger issue being the readiness of the (NATO) alliance. And not everybody’s willing to sign up to their agenda. Not everybody sees the threats that they see," Esper told Reuters.
The Ankara-US dispute comes as NATO prepares to hold its 70th anniversary summit. The two sides have been at loggerheads over Turkey's Syria policy and the purchase of Russian S-400 defense system.
Relations between Turkey and its NATO allies as a whole have also been strained due to Ankara's purchase of Russian air defense systems, as well as its operations in Syria.
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