Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu claimed that if Sunni Arab population of Syria's Raqqa would have to choose between Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish militant group YPG, they would rather choose IS than Kurdish forces.
On Sunday, Çavuşoğlu made a statement about Syria after meeting with his American counterpart Rex Tillerson. During the meeting, Çavuşoğlu stated that they lost their confidence to the latest US government due to their support to Kurdish armed organizations. Çavuşoğlu said, “US should send more special operation forces to the region in order to fight against Daesh” using an Arabic acronym for IS. Çavuşoğlu also criticized the US support to Syrian Democratic Forces stating, “Why do we need a help of another terrorist organization while we are fighting against terror?”.
Çavuşoğlu also claimed that “Sunni Arabs would choose Daesh if they would be torn between two options”, referring to the statements that Kurdish forces alongside with Syrian Democratic forces will enter the Islamic State's de facto capital of Raqqa within next months.
Turkish Foreign Minister also said that relations between two countries as well as public opinion towards the US is damaged because of Fethullah Gülen issue. US-based Islamic preacher Gülen is the leader of a religious sect, which tried to take over the political power with a coup attempt last July 15. Turkish Government requested the US to hand Gülen to Turkey, but US government refused due to juridical limitations.
