South Africa tour of India 2019
Tension between Nato allies - Trump warns Turkey of economic devastation
US and Turkey are Nato allies however recent events have created tensions between the two.
Trump last month had announced that 2,000 American troops would withdraw from Syria. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (YPG) were among the United States' closest allies in the fight against Islamic State militants inside Syria. However, Turkey views the YPG as a “terrorist offshoot” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 198 and there are fears that Turkey will attack Kurdish fighters inside Syria when the Americans leave.
In a highly unusual public threat to an allied nation, President Donald Trump warned Turkey that it will face economic devastation if it attacks Kurdish forces in Syria after a planned U.S. pullout and also push for 20 miles safe zone. This reaction was a result of Ankara threatening a new cross-border operation against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
In relation to this threat, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said "Mr @realDonaldTrump Terrorists can't be your partners & allies. Turkey expects the US to honor our strategic partnership and doesn't want it to be shadowed by terrorist propaganda. There is no difference between DAESH, PKK, PYD, and YPG. We will continue to fight against them all."
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