Turkey: Our allies have to choose to side with us or with the terrorists

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu yesterday asked that allies and friends choose either to be partners with Ankara or with terrorist organisations, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Cavusoglu’s remarks came during a joint press conference held in Budapest with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.

During the press conference, the Turkish foreign minister reiterated that Daesh is a terrorist organisation for Turkey, the US and Europe. “Both Daesh and the PYD [Kurdish Democratic Union Party] are terrorist organisations. You cannot say one is much better.”

However, he said, the US considers the PKK affiliate PYD “a reliable partner” in the fight against Daesh.

“The US needs to make a decision: Does it choose us [Turkey] as a partner or terrorist organisations?”

Spokesman of the US State Department John Kirby said in a press conference on Monday that his country does not consider the PYD a terrorist organisation.

Cavusoglu also said that about 50,000 Syrian refugees fled towards the Turkish borders due to the continuous Russian attacks, adding that the country has received 10,000 refugees and erected tents for the others on the Syrian side of the border.

“If these attacks continue, this figure will pass into the hundreds of thousands, even one million,” he warned.

“Russia should end these attacks as soon as possible. This deepens the problem in the region.”

Moscow claims the campaign is aimed primarily at Daesh targets, but Cavusoglu said that Russia targets the Syrian opposition which is supported by 65 countries.

He stressed that only 12 per cent of the Russian attacks target Daesh

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