Turkish FM: Turkey-US ties at risk of breaking down

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Relations between Turkey and the United States have deteriorated to a point where they could break down completely, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu cautioned on Monday.

Declaring bilateral ties at a critical point, the top Turkish envoy said, "We will either fix the ties or they will break down completely."

Speaking to the press in Istanbul following a meeting with African states, he said Washington has made several mistakes in handling its relationship with Ankara, including giving support to the Kurdish militia in Syria known as the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Smoke rises from the Syria's Afrin region, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Hassa, on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province, Turkey, on January 20, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Turkish troops launched an air and ground offensive against YPG-held Afrin in northwestern Syria on January 20 as Ankara treats the Kurdish militants as terrorists associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

Turkey has threatened to target Manbij, another Syrian town held by the YPG, in its next move, but the US has refused to withdraw its troops from the town as demanded by Ankara, heightening the risk of a direct confrontation between the NATO allies.

American army vehicles drive north of Manbij city, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, March 9, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Cavusoglu called on the US to "do what is necessary in Manbij." He said a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson later this week will discuss rebuilding the "broken trust."

He accused Washington of making "serious mistakes" on US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of masterminding a failed coup attempt in 2016, and the YPG. "We have open and clear expectations which we have repeatedly shared," Cavusoglu said. "We do not want promises, we want concrete steps to be taken."

Turkish presidential security and foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin met with US National Security Adviser Herbert Raymond McMaster in Istanbul over the weekend, while foreign and defense ministers of the two countries are scheduled to meet respectively in Ankara and Brussels in the coming days.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency