Türkiye asks NATO to help counterterrorism efforts
Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism - Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says he sought support from members of NATO, including the United States which openly backs the PKK in Syria, to fight against terrorism, during this week's meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was in Brussels this week for a two-day meeting of NATO’s top diplomats. Speaking to reporters before his return to Türkiye, Fidan said they asked NATO members to support Ankara in its fight against terrorism.
“We underlined that NATO member countries should fully and unconditionally support Türkiye in the fight against terrorism,” Fidan told reporters in Brussels.
During his bilateral talks on the sidelines of the meeting, Fidan said he also emphasized that some NATO member countries should not cooperate with the terrorist organizations, particularly in Syria. “We said this is against the spirit of the NATO alliance,” he added. Stressing that it was agreed upon the appointment of a counterterrorism coordinator at last year’s Vilnius Summit, Fidan said efforts are continuing for NATO to look at the fight against terrorism “structurally.”
Under the name of YPG, the PKK terrorist group has grown stronger in the region, particularly in Deir el-Zour province, home to Syria’s largest oil wells, thanks to material support from the United States. The issue strains Turkish-U.S. ties as Ankara warns its NATO ally against aiding terror elements that threaten its national security, something Washington continues to do despite promising to remove the group from the Turkish border area.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S., Britain and the European Union, is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terrorism.
