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| Turkish Officials Assail U.S. Decision to Arm Syrian Kurds | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ANTAKYA, Turkey — The Turkish prime minister and foreign minister lambasted the Trump administration’s decision to arm a Syrian Kurdish militant group to aid in the battle against the Islamic State, in criticism on Wednesday that was not unexpected but was nonetheless striking, coming from a NATO ally. | |
| The militant group, the People’s Protection Units, known by the Kurdish abbreviation Y.P.G., is fighting alongside Syrian Arab forces against the Islamic State. But Turkey considers it a terrorist organization and asserts that it is closely linked to the P.K.K., a Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against the Turkish government. | |
| “It is not possible for us to accept an initiative that would mean direct or indirect help to P.K.K.,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters in Ankara, the Turkish capital, before leaving for a trip to Britain. | |
| Mr. Yildirim said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would raise the issue with President Trump when he visits Washington on May 16 and 17. | |
| The foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, used stronger language, saying that every weapon the group obtains is a threat to Turkey, the Turkish news media reported on Wednesday. | |
| Mr. Cavusoglu, speaking in Montenegro, echoed an earlier statement from another minister, who called the decision to arm the group a “wrong” move that could harm Turkey. | Mr. Cavusoglu, speaking in Montenegro, echoed an earlier statement from another minister, who called the decision to arm the group a “wrong” move that could harm Turkey. |
| “Every weapon that goes to Y.P.G. is a threat against Turkey,” Mr. Cavusoglu said, according to the pro-government newspaper Sabah. “The United States knows our opinions well. In our Washington visit, we will share those reasons with Trump. Our president will meet Trump himself.” | “Every weapon that goes to Y.P.G. is a threat against Turkey,” Mr. Cavusoglu said, according to the pro-government newspaper Sabah. “The United States knows our opinions well. In our Washington visit, we will share those reasons with Trump. Our president will meet Trump himself.” |
| But so far, Mr. Erdogan, the most powerful politician in Turkey, has not spoken out directly, and there has been little coverage of the decision in the official Turkish news media. | |
| That suggests a more muted response than might have been expected, given that the United States is a crucial ally of Turkey, and that the group the Americans plan to arm is viewed by the Turkish government as inseparable from the Kurdish insurgents it considers its worst enemy. | That suggests a more muted response than might have been expected, given that the United States is a crucial ally of Turkey, and that the group the Americans plan to arm is viewed by the Turkish government as inseparable from the Kurdish insurgents it considers its worst enemy. |
| The first official criticism came from another official, Nurettin Canikli, who is not usually a front-line spokesman on government policy. | The first official criticism came from another official, Nurettin Canikli, who is not usually a front-line spokesman on government policy. |
| “We cannot accept the presence of terrorist organizations that would threaten the future of the Turkish state,” Mr. Canikli, a deputy prime minister, said an interview with the private broadcaster A Haber. “We hope the U.S. administration will put a stop to this wrong and turn back from it. Such a policy will not be beneficial; you can’t be in the same sack as terrorist organizations.” | “We cannot accept the presence of terrorist organizations that would threaten the future of the Turkish state,” Mr. Canikli, a deputy prime minister, said an interview with the private broadcaster A Haber. “We hope the U.S. administration will put a stop to this wrong and turn back from it. Such a policy will not be beneficial; you can’t be in the same sack as terrorist organizations.” |
| Analysts said there were several reasons the Turkish government might play down the event: It could be looking for concessions from the United States to make up for the decision; it could be trying to reassure its supporters or to de-emphasize the embarrassment that came from the decision being announced just as Turkish officials were arriving in Washington to lobby against it. Or, Mr. Erdogan could be waiting to respond until his meeting with Mr. Trump in the White House on May 16. | Analysts said there were several reasons the Turkish government might play down the event: It could be looking for concessions from the United States to make up for the decision; it could be trying to reassure its supporters or to de-emphasize the embarrassment that came from the decision being announced just as Turkish officials were arriving in Washington to lobby against it. Or, Mr. Erdogan could be waiting to respond until his meeting with Mr. Trump in the White House on May 16. |
| Asked about the complaints, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis played down the disagreement with Turkey, a NATO ally. | |
| “We’ll work out any of the concerns,” Mr. Mattis told reporters in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was meeting with other NATO defense ministers. “I’m not concerned at all about the NATO alliance and the relations between our nations. It’s not always tidy, but we work out the issues.” |