President Erdogan rejects French offer of talks with terror group

The offer of France to mediate between Turkey and the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) terror group in Syria has overstepped its bounds, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

It comes after the French presidency on Thursday said Emmanuel Macron was offering to mediate between Turkey and the SDF - a suggestion which Erdogan dismissed.

Speaking at the provincial leaders’ meeting of the governing Justice and Development (AK) Party in the capital Ankara, Erdogan said: "If the remark [by the France presidency] that 'we can be a mediator between Turkey and SDF' is true, it far exceeds the limit of the person who says that."

"Who are you to mediate between Turkey and terror group?"

Erdogan rejected any scope for negotiation with terror groups, saying Turkey's fight against terrorism would continue resolutely through the ongoing Turkish military operation in northwestern Syria.

He said France had taken a "completely wrong approach" on Syria, adding that he exchanged heated words with his French counterpart, Macron, last week.

TRT World's Caitlin McGee has more.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said the French stance was setting Paris on a collision course with Ankara.

"Those who enter into cooperation and solidarity with terror groups against Turkey...will, like the terrorists, become a target of Turkey," Bozdag wrote on Twitter. 

"We hope France does not take such an irrational step."

In a statement on Thursday, the Elysee Palace said the French president reaffirmed "France's commitment against the PKK and its commitment to the security of Turkey" after a meeting with an SDF delegation.

However, as Turkey has documented, the YPG and SDF are actually the Syrian branches of the PKK, which is recognised by Turkey, France, and the EU as a terrorist group.

Macron wants dialogue 

Macron also claimed the SDF had "no operational link with this terrorist group" – meaning the PKK – adding that "a dialogue could be established between the SDF and Turkey with the assistance of France and the international community."

But the SDF is dominated by YPG militants, as Ankara has demonstrated.

In its 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives, and Ankara has warned against international actors co-operating with such groups as the PYD, YPG, and SDF, as they are all affiliated to the PKK, but under different guises.