US not arming YPG, says American ambassador to Turkey
The United States Ambassador to Turkey John Bass claimed on Thursday that Washington is not providing any arms to the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).
"The US is not arming the YPG. We are not providing arms. We are not providing ammunition to the YPG," he claimed at the Diplomatic Correspondents Association in Ankara in according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news.
Any American-made weapons that happen to be in the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) possession were simply acquired when the Iraqi Army collapsed in June 2014 and left large quantities of weapons behind.
Ankara has long charged that the YPG is the Syrian wing of the PKK and should be treated as a terrorist organization. Washington claims that a distinction should be made, largely due to the fact that the YPG have proven to be a valuable asset in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.
The US has also denied dropping arms and ammunition to ISIS before, claiming that any air-drops into northeast Syria are destined for non-YPG anti-ISIS fighters.
Bass also reiterated American support for Turkey in its ongoing war against the PKK but stressed that, "it's important for counter-terrorism operations to be as precise as possible and to be conducted in a way that to the greatest extent possible minimizes casualties."
"The US is not arming the YPG. We are not providing arms. We are not providing ammunition to the YPG," he claimed at the Diplomatic Correspondents Association in Ankara in according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news.
Any American-made weapons that happen to be in the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) possession were simply acquired when the Iraqi Army collapsed in June 2014 and left large quantities of weapons behind.
Ankara has long charged that the YPG is the Syrian wing of the PKK and should be treated as a terrorist organization. Washington claims that a distinction should be made, largely due to the fact that the YPG have proven to be a valuable asset in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.
The US has also denied dropping arms and ammunition to ISIS before, claiming that any air-drops into northeast Syria are destined for non-YPG anti-ISIS fighters.
Bass also reiterated American support for Turkey in its ongoing war against the PKK but stressed that, "it's important for counter-terrorism operations to be as precise as possible and to be conducted in a way that to the greatest extent possible minimizes casualties."