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| Turkey Assails U.S. Decision to Arm Syrian Kurds | Turkey Assails U.S. Decision to Arm Syrian Kurds |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ANTAKYA, Turkey — Turkey’s president and his top aides sharply criticized the Trump administration on Wednesday over its decision to arm a Syrian Kurdish militant group in the battle against the Islamic State, and they urged the White House to reverse it. | |
| The criticism, while not necessarily unexpected, was striking coming from Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States. | The criticism, while not necessarily unexpected, was striking coming from Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States. |
| 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 and is intending to expel the jihadist organization from its de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria. But Turkey considers the Y.P.G. 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. | 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 and is intending to expel the jihadist organization from its de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria. But Turkey considers the Y.P.G. 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. |
| “I want to believe that Turkey’s allies will side with us, not with terrorist organizations,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks quoted in Turkish news media in reaction to the Trump administration’s decision, which was announced on Tuesday. The Turkish leader said he would convey his concern directly to President Trump in a visit to Washington next week. | |
| Mr. Erdogan’s prime minister, Binali Yildirim, also denounced the American decision, telling reporters in Ankara, the Turkish capital, “It is not possible for us to accept an initiative that would mean direct or indirect help to P.K.K.” | |
| The foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, used stronger language, saying that every weapon the group obtains is a threat to Turkey. | The foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, used stronger language, saying that every weapon the group obtains is a threat to 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. | 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.” |
| 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 in 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 in 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, or 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. | |
| Asked about the complaints, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis played down the disagreement with Turkey. | Asked about the complaints, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis played down the disagreement with Turkey. |
| “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.” | “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.” |
| American officials said that much of the weapons and equipment that was to be provided to the Syrian Kurds was already in Syria and could be distributed very soon. | American officials said that much of the weapons and equipment that was to be provided to the Syrian Kurds was already in Syria and could be distributed very soon. |
| “We have a certain amount of supply in the country already,” Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the American-led task force that is fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, said in a briefing for Pentagon reporters. “Some of that may be distributed very quickly.” | “We have a certain amount of supply in the country already,” Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the American-led task force that is fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, said in a briefing for Pentagon reporters. “Some of that may be distributed very quickly.” |
| Colonel Dorrian said that the supply would be “metered out” for specific operations and that American advisers would monitor the flow to ensure that it was used to fight the Islamic State, and not diverted elsewhere. He said that the Kurdish and Arab members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, as the umbrella group that is fighting the Islamic State in Syria is known, would receive the same types of weapons. | |
| Explaining the need to provide the arms, Colonel Dorrian said that there are more Islamic State fighters in Raqqa than in any other city or town in Syria and Iraq, including Mosul in Iraq, and that the militants in Raqqa have car bombs and have been fortifying their positions. | Explaining the need to provide the arms, Colonel Dorrian said that there are more Islamic State fighters in Raqqa than in any other city or town in Syria and Iraq, including Mosul in Iraq, and that the militants in Raqqa have car bombs and have been fortifying their positions. |
| Colonel Dorrian did not say when the operation to seize Raqqa would begin. But the American-backed fighters have been closing in on the city, and Colonel Dorrian said that the decision to provide them with heavier arms would enable them to accelerate the operation. |