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Bozdag also said Turkey's fight against the terrorist PYD/PKK in Afrin, northwestern Syria, near Turkey’s border, is providing tremendous support for Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
PYD/PKK in Manbij issue
Asked about the terrorist YPG/PKK presence in Manbij, Syria -- a standing bone of contention between Ankara and Washington -- Cavusoglu said the mechanism handling the Syria issue will prioritize Manbij.
In 2015, the Obama administration agreed with several non-state actors including the YPG and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), repeatedly asserting that they would cooperate in the fight against Daesh.
PKK/PYD supporters in Germany launched a campaign last month against Turkey's ongoing counterterrorism operation in northern Syria and held demonstrations across the country in which they carried banned flags and posters of the PKK terrorist group.
n Monday 12 February, the Turkish Armed Forces announced that a total of 1,369 PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh terrorists have been “neutralized” since the launch of Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s Afrin region.
n Friday 9 February, Turkish and Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces liberated four more villages from PYD/PKK terrorists as part of Operation Olive Branch in northwest Syria.
Mattis stated that there has been no change in terms of Turkey’s pressure on Manbij in response to a question about Turkey’s concern over the presence of PYD/PKK terrorists in the area.
Turkey’s military intervention in Afrin came due to this very reason: the PYD/YPG terrorist organization had settled to create a terror corridor on the Turkish-Syrian border, which inevitably became a matter of national security for Ankara.
administration to stop supporting the PKK/PYD in Syria, Ibrahim Kalin stated, “Who can oppose the argument that the Syrian territory should be cleared of all terrorist elements? If someone opposes this, that means they have some other plan.
Speaking out against these claims, President Erdogan informed that the PKK/YPG/PYD terrorist group had released all Daesh prisoners under the condition that they would fight against the Turkish army and the FSA in Afrin.
urkey has been in a long on-going preparation process for an extensive military operation against the PYD/YPG, which the country deems as a threat to both its own national security and to the territorial integrity of Syria.
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Turkey's operation was carried out against the PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh terrorist groups under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, the UN Security Council’s decisions and self-defense rights under the UN charter.