NATO allies should support Turkey in its conflict with Syrian Kurdish fighters after Ankara dropped its objections to the alliance’s defense plans for Poland and the Baltics, NTV quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Thursday.
Ahead of Wednesday’s summit, Turkey had angered other NATO members by saying it would block the defense plan until they designated the Kurdish YPG militia, against which Ankara waged a military offensive two months ago, a terrorist organization.
Erdogan told reporters in London that Turkey dropped its objection to the Baltics plan after NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg and the leaders of Germany, France and Poland asked for Turkey’s backing. “After talks with my colleagues, we said yes to this, but you must not abandon us in the fight against terror,” Erdogan was cited as saying.
Stoltenberg said after the summit that allies had not discussed how to designate the YPG during their talks.