Our reaction to the statements of Brett McGurk, US Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter DAESH, in which he associated Turkey with the presence of terrorist organizations in Idlib was brought to Mr. McGurk’s attention at a high-level démarche and his statements, which could be characterized as provocative, were protested. In addition, Mr. McGurk was reminded of both the fact that the root causes enabling terrorist organizations to find foothold in Syria and Iraq could only be eradicated only if the deeds and actions of all relevant actors do not contradict one another, and our expectation that the Syria-based terrorist organization PYD/YPG is not supported for whatever the reason may be.

Our reaction to Mr. McGurk's statements will also be reiterated to the US authorities by the Turkish Embassy in Washington.