Erdogan: Clinton's remarks on arming Kurds unfortunate

ANKARA, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday described the US Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton’s pledge of arming Kurdish forces against the Islamic State (IS) as “unfortunate.”

Erdogan was speaking to more than one thousand newly-appointed judges and prosecutors in his Ankara palace.

“Recently the Republicans’ nominee Mrs. Clinton similarly said she would continue to support the PYD. A very unfortunate statement,” declared Erdogan who mistakenly identified the Democratic Clinton as the nominee of her Republican rivals.

“I think the meaning of making such a statement in politics is quite different. In fact, I see this as a political novelty,” he continued.

PYD (Democratic Union Party), which Turkey deems a terrorist group for ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is the current ruling party in Syrian Kurdistan.

“This [arming the Kurds] must not be done because the region has sensitivities. Are you not aware that you have caused the killing of 600 thousand people with these weapons you gave? Where is the importance of human life?” Erdogan said.

Moreover, Erdogan blamed the Syrian civil war’s casualties on the US policy of backing the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

“They say ‘well, I have got weapons, let the bombs rain down from the skies, who cares if those killed are Muslim,’” the Turkish President added.

YPG in Syria, alongside Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Region, is the main US ally on the ground in the war against IS.

Addressing the US administration, Erdogan stressed the [anti-IS] Coalition was made up of 63 countries, but all of them instead relied on “a bunch of PYD people” to fight IS.

Erdogan’s criticism of Clinton's remarks follows that of his Prime Minister Binali Yildirim who on Tuesday questioned if the US was a Turkish ally.

“But they are terrorists too! You are working with a terror group in order to destroy another one,” repeated Erdogan.

He added Turkey would never allow “the creation of a terror corridor” in northern Syria where Kurds have formed a de facto autonomous region.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany