Erdogan said Turkey had begun preparations to clear parts of northern Syria from 'militants' [Rasit Aydogan/Anadolu]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected a French offer to mediate between Turkey and Kurdish fighters in Syria that have been blacklisted by Ankara.
His comments on Friday came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a delegation of Kurdish fighters in Paris and offered to mediate between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - an umbrella group of fighters dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) - and the Turkish government.
"Who are you to mediate between Turkey and a terror group?" Erdogan said at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in the capital, Ankara.
"Those who host at the highest level the members of a terrorist organisation, which has been freely carrying out its activities in their countries, should be aware that this is nothing but an expression of hostility against Turkey," he said.
Turkey considers the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), active in Syria, and its armed wing the YPG to be "terrorist groups" with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody armed rebellion for decades.
France does not have the right to complain about the actions of any armed group on its soil after meeting with the representatives of the PYD and the YPG, the Turkish leader said.
"Those who get into bed with terrorists and even welcome them at their palaces will sooner or later see the mistake they have made.
"We hope they will not dare to seek our help when France is filled with terrorists fleeing from Syria and Iraq after being encouraged by French policies," Erdogan added.
'Terror corridor'
The YPG has been Washington's main ally against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in Syria, in a partnership that has infuriated Turkey.
Al Jazeera's Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said Ankara "does not see everything eye-to-eye with international coalition members" when it comes to the fight against ISIL in Syria.
"Especially cooperating with SDF, that is something critical, a taboo for Turkey," she said.
Koseoglu added that Turkish officials see such mediation efforts "as an attempt to legitimise the PKK and YPG under the name of SDF in terms of fighting against ISIL".
Erdogan's comments on Friday came less than two weeks after Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army rebels drove YPG fighters from Afrin city in northern Syria.
Also at the AK Party meeting, Erdogan said Turkey had begun preparations to clear parts of northern Syria from "militants", adding it could also make incursions into northwestern Iraq.
He said Ankara would expand its military operations to Ayn al-Arab, Tal Abyad, Rasulayn and Hasakah, a stretch of northern Syria under Kurdish control, which has been described as a "terror corridor".
Erdogan added that Turkish forces could even enter Iraq's Sinjar province "all of a sudden" and "deal with the terrorists there."
Comment: Reuters reports:
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The split with France is the latest rift between Turkey under Erdogan and its NATO allies in the West.
Turkey has long complained about U.S. support for the SDF, among a number of irritants to ties with the leading NATO power. Last year it compared the German and Dutch authorities to Nazis for restricting pro-Erdogan demonstrations during a campaign for a referendum to give him greater powers.
The White House said President Donald Trump, who added fresh uncertainty on Thursday when he said that the United States would be "coming out of Syria" very soon, spoke to Erdogan on Friday "to discuss regional developments and the strategic partnership between the United States and Turkey".
"The two leaders expressed support for continued efforts to increase cooperation between their two countries, to advance shared interests as NATO allies, and to work through issues that affect the bilateral relationship," a White House statement said.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said the French stance was setting Paris on a collision course with Ankara.
"Those who enter into cooperation and solidarity with terror groups against Turkey ... will, like the terrorists, become a target of Turkey," Bozdag, who is also the Turkish government spokesman, wrote on Twitter. "We hope France does not take such an irrational step."
Macron met an SDF delegation on Thursday and gave assurances of French support to stabilize northern Syria. A presidential source later said France could increase its military contribution to the U.S.-led coalition which - alongside the SDF - is fighting Islamic State in Syria.
The United States has 2,000 troops in SDF-held territory, and France also has some troops there as part of the coalition.
Ankara considers the YPG fighters in the SDF to be an extension of Kurdish militants who have waged a decades-old insurgency in southeast Turkey.
Turkish forces drove the YPG from the northwestern Syrian town of Afrin nearly two weeks ago and Erdogan says Ankara is preparing to extend operations along hundreds of miles of border, including areas where the American forces are deployed.
The Afrin operation has already drawn international criticism, notably from Macron. Ankara, meanwhile, has said it expects its allies to move their troops out of the way of a Turkish advance.
"We have no intention to harm soldiers of allied nations, but we cannot allow terrorists to roam freely (in northern Syria)," Erdogan said.
One U.S. service member and one other member of the U.S.-led coalition were killed by a bomb in Syria overnight, the first to die in an attack this year.
TRUMP SURPRISE
Trump's remark on Thursday that the United States would be "coming out of Syria" appeared to take his own administration by surprise.
U.S. officials have said in recent months that Washington planned to keep an open-ended presence in northern Syria, to support stability in the SDF-controlled region, prevent any Islamic State resurgence and counter Iranian influence.
SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel said the force had not been informed of any U.S. withdrawal plan.
"Our work and coordination (with the coalition) is continuing," Gabriel told Reuters in a written message.
Asked whether U.S. forces had been informed of a decision to withdraw or were preparing to do so, a spokesman for the coalition said he would not comment on future operations.
A PYD member in Paris said Macron had promised at Thursday's meeting with the SDF to send more troops to northern Syria, provide humanitarian assistance and push a diplomatic solution.
The French presidency did not confirm that Macron had pledged more troops, but the presidential source said France could bolster its military intervention in Syria "within the existing framework" of the U.S.-led coalition.
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Erdogan spoke last week with Macron about the French president's criticism of Turkey's Afrin campaign.
"He was saying weird things and so, even if it was a bit high-octane, I had to tell him some things," Erdogan said. "It is not anyone's place to portray our armed forces as something we do not find acceptable."
The recent jhadi withdrawal from Ghouta is interesting, in the sense that the Syrians and Russians are allowing them free passage into Idlib. Perhaps they have reached a deal with Turkey, considering that they are now leaving Ghouta in droves? Russia has green lighted a Turkish invasion into Manbij, apparently. So, perhaps the Turks are about to get an extra 15,000 hardened jhadis to fight the SDF? Maybe Trump sees the mess ahead, and the futility, that the US is now about to get drawn into a quagmire?