Turkish MP in Washington slams US over YPG/PKK support

By Hakan Copur

WASHINGTON (AA) - The head of Turkish parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee has criticized the U.S. government for its support to the YPG/PKK terrorist group.

“The U.S.’ YPG preference is a completely wrong choice,” Volkan Bozkir told a group of Turkish journalists at a meeting hosted by Turkey’s ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic in Washington.

The Turkish MP is in Washington along with a delegation as part of an official visit by the Turkish parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee to hold talks with U.S. Congress members.

Turkish troops launched a military operation on Jan. 20 to clear terrorist groups from Afrin, which was liberated last week amid growing terror threats posed from the region to Turkey.

The U.S. has supported the YPG/PKK under the name of SDF, which is considered by Ankara as a Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization that has waged a more than a 30-year war against the Turkish state.

American support for the terror group has long vexed Ankara, as Washington views the SDF as a "reliable partner" in its fight against Daesh and continues to provide it with arms and equipment in the face of strong objections by Turkey.

The PKK has fought a 33-year war against Turkey that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.