Erdoğan, Stoltenberg holds phone call on US backed Syria border force plan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday held a phone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the latest developments in Syria.
- Türkiye
- Agencies and A News
- Published Date: 12:00 | 16 January 2018
- Modified Date: 08:30 | 16 January 2018
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a phone call on Tuesday that Turkey would take all necessary precautions to ensure its national security.
During his talks with NATO chief, Erdoğan laid emphasis on that Turkey would never turn a blind eye to the terrorist organization that deployed to the regions near its border.
The U.S.-led coalition in northern Syria has said it was working with the mainly PKK/PYD-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to set up a new 30,000-strong border force. The move has angered Turkey.
NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said late Tuesday that the organization wasn't consulted before the U.S. announced its plans to form an army out of YPG terrorists.
"We understand Turkey's concerns regarding the matter," Stoltenberg told President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a phone call.
Erdoğan also told Stoltenberg that a so-called army of the PKK's Syrian wing is "completely unacceptable."
"Such a move will not serve the stability of the region," Erdoğan said, according to presidential sources.