Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın and U.S. President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster confirmed in a phone call Friday evening that the U.S. would no longer supply the PKK's Syrian affiliate the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed-wing People's Protection Units (YPG) with weapons in Syria.
In the call, Kalın and McMaster also emphasized the necessity of taking Turkey's legitimate security concerns regarding the situation on its Syrian border into consideration, and agreed to be in close coordination about Turkey's Operation Olive Branch in Afrin to prevent any misunderstandings.
U.S. support for the YPG/PYD terror group has long vexed Ankara, as Washington called its PKK-led umbrella group, the SDF, a "reliable partner" in its fight against Daesh and provided it with arms and equipment in the face of strong objections from Turkey.
In 2014, the PKK's Syrian offshoot the YPG/PYD received support from the U.S.-led coalition against Daesh after the battle at Kobani, followed by a change in the ethnic makeup in the region.
On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove the PKK/YPG and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.
According to the military, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.
The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, U.N. Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the U.N. charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.
The military has also said that only terrorist targets are being destroyed and "utmost importance" is being put on not harming any civilians.
Afrin has been a major hideout for the YPG/PKK since July 2012, when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.
