US actions don’t match promises made to Turkey: Deputy PM

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesman Bekir Bozdağ said on Sunday that Washington’s promises to Ankara didn’t match their actions on the field, after the U.S. repeatedly vowed to stop arming terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syrian offshoot, the PYD, following numerous warnings by Turkey.

In reference to U.S. plans to establish a "border security force" in Syria, Bozdağ said that Turkey "won’t allow anything leading to the establishment of a PKK terrorist state or army in the region."

Bozdağ also pointed that the Syrian city of Manbij, along with the east of the Euphrates River will be cleared of the PKK/PYD terror group.

Regarding Turkey’s ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s northwestern region of Afrin, the Turkish Deputy PM emphasized that the campaign seeks to "eliminate terrorist groups and make the area safe," noting that Turkey respects the territorial integrity of Syria.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.

Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012 when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without a fight.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.