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Turkey Vows To ‘Eliminate Any Threat’ as US Announces Kurdish Border Force in Syria

Turkey Vows To ‘Eliminate Any Threat’ as US Announces Kurdish Border Force in Syria
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Ankara slammed the plan to create a 30,000-strong force from the Kurdish-dominated SDF militias on its border with Syria, accusing its NATO ally of presenting its "unilateral" move as a joint decision of the US-led coalition.

Turkey Vows To ‘Eliminate Any Threat’ as US Announces Kurdish Border Force in Syria

The Turkish government perceives the so-called Syrian Border Force, that may be stationed along the Kurdish-controlled parts of the Syrian border with Iraq and Turkey, as well as in the Euphrates River Valley, as a threat to its national security, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in the statement on Sunday.

"Turkey is determined to eliminate any threats against it, and has all possibilities to do this," it said, denouncing what it called "the persistence of the United State in this erroneous approach" of cooperating with the Kurdish militias.

The US-led coalition's plan to set up such a force on the basis of the so-called Syrian Democratic Force [SDF] veterans, who are set to make up half of the recruits, was unveiled by US Army Col. Thomas Veale, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, on Saturday.

However, Turkey, also a part of the coalition to defeat Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL' group], was not consulted prior to the announcement, according to the ministry. It accused Washington of misleading the public into believing the decision was taken on behalf of the coalition, while in fact the US was likely acting unilaterally.

"It is unknown what coalition members made of this decision. Explaining the unilateral steps on behalf of the coalition is an extremely wrong move that could harm the fight with Daesh," the ministry said.

Turkey has been calling on the US to withdraw its support for the Kurdish YPG units, a cornerstone of the SDF militia, as Ankara considers the YPG an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK].

In November, Washington promised to wind down its support for "certain groups" fighting Daesh in Syria following a phone call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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