By Umit Donmez
PARIS (AA) - France declined to say Thursday whether it recognizes the PKK as a terrorist group.
“What is essential for us, in principle, is that the active groups currently in Syrian territory are included in the transition process,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine in response to a question from an Anadolu reporter.
He reiterated President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks about France having a “debt” to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the “freedom fighters like the Kurds who, during difficult years, had the courage to fight alongside us against terrorist groups.”
“I will not comment on the nature of the PKK,” he added.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly.
The YPG, the PKK’s Syrian branch, has long sought to build a “terrorist corridor” in northern Syria next to the Turkish border, also oppressing local populations. Türkiye has deployed troops and worked with local allies to defeat that plot.
*Writing in Ankara