Erdoğan says Turkey not to allow Kurdish state in northern Syria

Turkey's President Erdogan makes a speech during a graduation ceremony in Ankara, June 11, 2015. (Photo: Reuters, Ümit Bektaş)

June 27, 2015, Saturday/ 00:42:25/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said his country will not allow the establishment of an independent state in northern Syria, once again voicing Turkey's concerns of a Kurdish autonomous region being formed in the void left by Islamic of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the region.

“I am appealing to the whole world. We will never allow the establishment of a state in Syria’s north and our south. We will continue our fight in this regard no matter what it costs. They want to complete the operation to change the demographic structure of the region. We will not turn a blind eye to this,” Erdoğan said during a fast-breaking dinner hosted by Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent) on Friday.

Turkey, a country with its own sizable Kurdish minority, is uncomfortable with the gains made by Kurdish militia in Syria, fearing it could inflame separatist sentiment among its own Kurdish population.

Ankara has frequently expressed concern over the dominance of the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria. It accuses the Kurdish militia of deliberately attempting an ethnic cleansing of the area in a bid to change the demographic balance of the region in favor of the Kurds.

Erdoğan earlier voiced concern about the YPG dominance in the region, pointing out that Kurds were taking over areas from which Arabs and Turkmen were being forcibly displaced. Erdoğan accused the West of backing what he called Kurdish terrorists and said the outcome could eventually threaten Turkey's border.

Backed by air forces from the global anti-ISIL coalition, the YPG has made swift gains and pushed back ISIL after months of heavy fighting in the struggle to defend Kobani -- another contested town on the Turkish-Syrian border. The retention of Kobani was seen as a turn in the tide against ISIL. Turkey was forced to absorb more than 150,000 civilians during brutal clashes in and around Kobani in late 2014.
Erdoğan said in October that it was wrong of the United States to air-drop military supplies to Kurdish fighters defending Kobani, as some weapons were seized by ISIL militants surrounding it.

Keywords: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , PYD , Kurds