Turkish presidential aide talks to French adviser

By Sibel Ugurlu

ANKARA

Turkish presidential spokesman and diplomatic adviser to French president spoke over the phone on Friday.

Talks between Ibrahim Kalin and Philippe Etienne came after Thursday's statement from the Elysee Palace that said President Emmanuel Macron recalled "the commitment of France against the PKK and its commitment to the security of Turkey" during his meeting with the PYD/PKK-led SDF delegation.

Macron also said in the statement that the SDF had "no operational link with this terrorist group", adding that "a dialogue could be established between the SDF and Turkey with the assistance of France and the international community".

The U.S. has supported the YPG/PKK, under the name SDF, which is considered by Ankara as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization that has waged a more-than-30-year war against the Turkish state.

Earlier on Friday, Kalin tweeted that Turkey expects its allies to stand "clearly" against all kinds of terrorism.

"Turkey’s position on PKK/PYD/YPG, which seeks to legitimize itself as SDF, is perfectly clear. We reject as frivolous any efforts to suggest ‘dialogue’, ‘contact’ or ‘mediation’ between Turkey and those terrorist organizations.

"Instead of taking steps which could be construed as legitimizing terrorist organizations, the countries we consider friends and allies must take a clear stand against all forms of terrorism. Different names and disguises cannot hide the true identity of terrorist organizations.”