Turkey Outraged by U.S. State Department Report

Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the U.S. State Department's 2021 report regarding the country in connection with 'terrorism.'

According to Ermenihaber, the spokesman for Turkey's Foreign Ministry, Tanju Bilgic, responded to the report. He called on the United States to show solidarity with Turkey in its 'fight against terrorism' and to refrain from differentiating between various groups, which the Turkish side deems a threat to national security.

'Turkey continues to combat terrorist organizations, including the PKK/PYD/YPG, DHKP-C, FETÖ, and ISIS militants. All of Ankara's actions in this regard are in accordance with the law,' the Turkish Foreign Ministry representative stated.

He also highlighted the fact that the report mentions the 'Syrian Democratic Forces' (a coalition mainly composed of Kurds and Arabs) as key partners in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist organization.

It is noteworthy that the U.S. does not consider the Kurdish forces in Syria, which Turkey labels as terrorists, to be terrorists, a stance that has raised dissatisfaction on the Turkish side. While the U.S. has classified the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization, it does not regard the Kurdish forces in Syria (YPG, SDF) as terrorists. The Turkish side, however, maintains that the YPG and SDF are the same entity.