14 January 2019•Update: 15 January 2019
By Mehmet Tosun
ANKARA
Turkey's main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Monday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks threatening Turkey's peace and economy.
"We do not accept this statement that directly targets our country's tranquility and economy," party spokesman Faik Oztrak told a news conference in the capital Ankara.
Oztrak's remarks came a day after Trump's threat to attack Turkey's economy if Ankara hits the terror group PKK/YPG during the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.
"[The US] Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds," Trump tweeted on Sunday, conflating “Kurds” with the terrorist PKK/YPG, a conflation that Turkey has repeatedly criticized.
Oztrak said Kurdish people are one of Turkey's "primary components."
"Using expressions like 'Turkey will hit Kurds' is very wrong. At the same time, these statements also disturb our social peace. It is not possible for us to accept these," he added.
Oztrak said world super powers need to leave Syria "as soon as possible," and the Syrian problem must be solved without neglecting Turkey's territorial integrity.
Following the surprise announcement in December that U.S. forces would leave Syria, U.S. officials said withdrawal was conditional on the U.S. not attacking the "Kurds," meaning the terrorist PKK/YPG.
Turkish officials attacked the U.S. conflation of "Kurds" with the terror group, saying the forthcoming Turkish operation in Syria targets a terrorist group which threatens Arabs, Turkmens, and Kurds alike in Syria.
In its 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives. The YPG/PYD is its Syrian branch.
