Turkey says US has 'other plans' with Syrian Kurds

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Turkey’s Minister of Defense claimed on Saturday that the United States insistence on backing the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria meant the US “had other plans.”

Minister Fikri Isik spoke to reporters at an opening reception of the Turkish Parliament’s new legislative year.

“The US is currently not very close [to us]. The US stubbornly insists on backing the elements of the PYD and YPG,” Isik said.

“This, in turn, creates suspicions on our side that the United States has another plan for the future [in Syria],” the Turkish Minister continued without being specific.

The US is the biggest military backer of the YPG, supporting it with weaponry and airstrikes under the umbrella of a multi-ethnic Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to ease Turkish concerns.

“SDF is a scam that we do not buy. We cannot accept it as a camouflage for the PYD and YPG elements,” Isik stated.

Turkey is fearful of the prospects of another Kurdish autonomous region across its southern border with Syria, after the Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

The Syrian Kurds already declared autonomy in March 2016, naming the Kurdish-held territories “the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.”

However, the move went unrecognized by major powers including the United States, as well as the Syrian Government and its opposition.

Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s advisor and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP Burhan Kuzu claimed the failed July 15 coup attempt aimed to create a Kurdish state in eastern Turkey.

Kuzu’s remarks appeared in an interview on the Sunday version of the ultra-Kemalist daily, Sozcu.

“With the US’ approval, and the guidance of the UK and Israel, the target of the coup was the State of Turkey,” said Kuzu adding that a plan for a Kurdish state in eastern Turkey “was already prepared.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany