Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Turkey’s foreign minister on Friday said Turkey and the US agree that after the northern city of Manbij, other Syrian regions will be rid of PKK/YPG terrorists.
Speaking at Anadolu Agency’s Editors' Desk, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said: “There is a clear consensus [with the U.S.] on our roadmap that we will move on to other areas after Manbij [has been cleared of PKK/YPG terrorists].
The roadmap was announced last month after a meeting in Washington between Çavuşoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The deal focuses on the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated YPG terror group from Manbij and stability in the region.
A new report of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has described the terrorist PKK group and its Syrian affiliates -- PYD and YPG -- as “sister organisations”.The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) in northern state of Schleswig-Holstein gave new details about the activities of PYD/PKK/YPG in Germany, in its annual report which was published on the government’s website.The PKK and its affiliates are still active across the country with nearly 14,500 followers among the Kurdish immigrant community, and are using the German soil for propaganda, fund-raising and logistics support, the report said.Despite PYD’s widespread propaganda in the Western media, portraying itself as an independent Syrian Kurdish group, the German domestic intelligence agency highlighted that the group was closely attached with the PKK in northern Germany.Earlier this year, Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency (BfV) warned about growing PKK activity and violence in the country, and also described the PYD as PKK's “sister organization”.The terrorist PKK group has been banned in Germany since 1993, but the German government has not yet taken any legal action to outlaw the PYD.Turkey has long criticized German authorities for not taking serious measures against the terrorist group and tolerating their propaganda activities.The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU, waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, and has been responsible for the death of nearly 40,000 people.TAF, FSA destroy joint PKK- Daesh terror cells in SyriaTurkish army conducts 9th round of patrols in Manbij
German intelligence calls PKK, PYD 'sister' groups
"The Kurds in Kobani need not worry about the roadmap, because the YPG is persecuting them. We will analyze the demographics and if the majority is Kurdish, then this will be reflected in the administration, but the YPG/PKK will not be a part of this," Çavuşoğlu said.
Speaking on the Turkish army patrols in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, Çavuşoğlu said the YPG/PKK’s withdrawal from patrol areas in Manbij does not mean they have completely withdrawn.
On Wednesday, the Turkish military completed its ninth round of patrols in Manbij as part of a deal with the U.S. to rid the area of the terror group YPG/PKK.
On its Twitter account, the Turkish General Staff said that both countries' forces conducted separate coordinated patrols in the area between Manbij and the area previously cleared by Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield.
Turkish Armed Forces in cooperation with U.S. troops on Monday began patrolling the northern Syrian city of Manbij, local sources said.
Joint Turkey-US patrol forces enter Syria's Manbij
The first patrols by Turkish and U.S. troops in the region began on June 18.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives, including those of women and children. The YPG/PKK is its Syrian branch.
Çavuşoğlu also stated Turkey’s resolve to continue counterterrorism operations in northern Iraq.
“We will do what is necessary for the terrorist PKK to be cleared from Iraqi territories,” he said.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as the U.S. and the EU. In its terror campaign against Turkey, which has lasted for more than three decades, over 40,000 people have been killed, including women and children.
S-400 deal
About how bilateral ties might get affected if the U.S. imposes sanctions on Turkey due to its S-400 purchase, the foreign minister said: "The U.S. administration will make the decision. The administration does not want to harm relations with Turkey.
"Especially, [Donald] Trump himself does not want to harm relations with Turkey. He, in real terms, respects our Mr. President.”
Under an accelerated timetable for the S-400 deal, Russia's first deliveries of the advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Turkey are due in late 2019 or early 2020.
The S-400 is Russia's most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system with a capacity of carrying three types of missiles capable of destroying targets including ballistic and cruise missiles.
The system can track and engage up to 300 targets at a time and has an altitude ceiling of 27 kilometers (17 miles).
Three foreign nationals were arrested Thursday when Israeli forces forcibly attacked protesters at a demonstration in Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin community in East Jerusalem.“Israeli forces stormed Khan al-Ahmar this morning and began attacking demonstrators,” community spokesman Daoud Jahaleen told Anadolu Agency.During the melee, he said, three foreign nationals were arrested by Israeli police.Video: Israeli forces attack Palestinian Bedouin community, demolish homesJahaleen added that “dozens” of Israeli soldiers, accompanied by bulldozers and military vehicles, had surrounded the community since Thursday morning.“The army is now preventing journalists and solidarity activists from reaching the area,” the spokesman added.On Wednesday, Israeli bulldozers destroyed a number of tents and other structures in Khan al-Ahmar, triggering clashes with local residents.There are 46 Bedouin communities scattered across Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem inhabited by a total of some 3,000 residents.UAE military delegation visits Israel: Media reports
Israeli forces attack peaceful protest in E. J'lem with tanks, bulldozers
Relations with Israel
About Turkish-Israeli relations, Çavuşoğlu said Israel was maintaining an aggressive attitude towards Turkey.
“Israeli should cease its wrong policies and merciless cruelty, which is incompatible with humanity, in order to normalize our relations with Israel in real terms,” Çavuşoğlu said.
On Turkish national Ebru Özkan’s arrest in Tel Aviv, Çavuşoğlu said: “They [Israel] have been taking steps to deter our citizens from visiting Jerusalem. We will respond to this.”
An Israeli military court on Tuesday extended the detention of Özkan, who had been under arrest since June 11 for alleged links with terrorist groups, the lawyer said.
Iran nuclear deal
On U.S. withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal, Çavuşoğlu said: “We don’t find the U.S. decisions on sanctions on Iran right.”
In May, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal, which was signed in 2015 between Iran and the P5 1 group of nations (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany). The deal placed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
He said Iran should not be forced into a corner since it would be "dangerous and risky”.
Çavuşoğlu added the U.S. decision against Iran had been taken upon Israeli demand and had no justification.
Also, on Austria’s taking over of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from Bulgaria on July 1, the foreign minister said: “We also do not expect Austria to take a radical decision.”
Austria assumed the presidency for the third time after its terms in 1998 and 2006.
Turkish prosecutors on Friday issued arrest warrants against 346 people suspected of being linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.The Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Istanbul issued arrest warrants for 271 soldiers, including 122 on-duty, as part of a probe on FETÖ, a source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media. Turkish police launched anti-terror operations in 47 provinces across Turkey, the source added. Meanwhile, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Izmir, in western Turkey, issued arrest warrants for 75 soldiers, including 59 on-duty, another source said. A total of 37 suspects have already been arrested in Izmir, the sources added. FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 2016 in Turkey which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.FETÖ terror ringleader sends instructions to group membersAt least 16 FETÖ suspects arrested across Turkey
Turkey issues arrest warrants for 346 FETÖ suspects
Fight against FETO
About the fight against Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), Çavuşoğlu said: “We will see how seriously they [U.S.] will take it after everything is put on the table. The U.S. should not lose its ally like Turkey.”
Urging the U.S. to give up its “wrong policies” against Ankara, he urged the Washington administration to fulfill Turkey’s demands against FETÖ.
According to the Turkish government, FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.