Thursday, May 4, 2017

NATO ally tests Trump: Turkey threatens to strike U.S. forces partnered with Kurds

Via Billy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, says goodbye to Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, after their meeting in Putin's residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The presidents of Russia and Turkey held talks on the situation in Syria and also the restoration of full economic ties between their two countries. (Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The war of words between Washington and Ankara over the U.S. military’s partnership with Kurdish paramilitaries in Syria escalated Wednesday, when a senior aide to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested American troops could be targeted alongside their Kurdish allies in the country’s ongoing air war against the militias.

Senior presidential aide Ilnur Cevik said U.S. forces who are teamed up with members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, were in danger of being hit by Turkish fighters patrolling the volatile border region with Syria.

If YPG units and their American military advisers “go too far, our forces would not care if American armor is there, whether armored carriers are there,” Mr. Cevik said during an interview on Turkish radio station CRI TURK Wednesday. “All of a sudden, by accident, a few rockets can hit them,” he added, referring to partnered U.S. forces.

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