Turkey Refuses ‘Terrorist Army’ on its Border with Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)
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Turkey Refuses ‘Terrorist Army’ on its Border with Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)

The Turkish National Security Council (MGK) reiterated on Wednesday Ankara’s condemnation of a Washington plan to set up a security border force in western Syria.

In a statement, the MGK said it would not allow the formation of a “terrorist army” along Turkish borders.

The US-led coalition in northern Syria said it was working with the mainly Kurdish YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to set up a new 30,000-strong border force.

Turkey will respond immediately to any threats from Western Syria that could harm the country or its citizens, stressed the MGK.

It demanded that all weapons given to Kurdish fighters in Syria be collected without delay.

It also advised the cabinet of ministers to extend the emergency rule imposed shortly after a 2016 coup attempt.

Ankara has frequently expressed its opposition to Washington’s arming of Kurdish forces in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will launch a military offensive in the coming days against territories controlled by Kurdish forces in northwestern and eastern Syria, and in particular the enclave of Afrin.

The US move to form the border force has been rejected by Tehran, Damascus and the Syrian opposition.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that those plans were a "perilous" step that would "seriously endanger ties." The two met in Vancouver Tuesday.

"Such a development would damage Turkish-American ties in an irreversible manner," the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying on Wednesday.

Erdogan said the imminent military operation is to "purge terror" from near its borders. Along with Afrin, Erdogan has also threatened Manbij, a town the Kurdish-led SDF seized from ISIS in 2016.



France Cools Expectations of Swift Palestinian State Recognition

 France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
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France Cools Expectations of Swift Palestinian State Recognition

 France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)

France on Friday dampened expectations Paris could rapidly recognize a Palestinian state, with the French foreign minister saying while it was "determined" to make such a move, recognition had to be more than "symbolic".

France is due later this month to co-host with Saudi Arabia a UN conference in New York on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

There had been expectations that France could recognize a Palestinian state during that conference, with President Emmanuel Macron also growing increasingly frustrated with Israel's blocking of aid to the Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

"France could have taken a symbolic decision. But this is not the choice we made because we have a particular responsibility" as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, while saying Paris was still "determined" to make the move.

Several EU countries including Ireland, Spain and Sweden recognize a Palestinian state. But Germany, while backing a two-state solution, has said recognition now would send the "wrong signal".

France is reportedly working closely on the issue with the United Kingdom, which also so far has not recognized a Palestinian state, at a time when French-British diplomatic ties are becoming increasingly tight after Brexit.

Macron on Thursday said that he expected the conference in New York would take steps "towards recognizing Palestine", without being more specific.

He has said he hopes French recognition of a Palestinian state would encourage other governments to do the same and that countries who do not recognize Israel should do so.

Barrot meanwhile also stressed the "absolute necessity" to address the issue of the disarmament of Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable.

Relations between Israel and France have deteriorated over the last weeks, with Israel's foreign ministry accusing Macron of undertaking a "crusade against the Jewish state" after he called on European countries to harden their stance if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.