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Erdogan, referring to Islamic State's remaining stronghold, told a joint Moscow news conference with the Russian President "Of course, the real target now is Raqqa".
Turkey is seeking a role for its military in the advance on Raqqa, but the United States is veering toward enlisting the Kurdish YPG militia - something contrary to Ankara's aim of banishing Kurdish fighters eastwards across the Euphrates river.
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan after the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool |
Turkey considers the YPG the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has been fighting an insurrection on Turkish soil for 30 years. Washington, like Ankara, considers the PKK a terrorist group, but it backs the YPG.
Russian-backed forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are also operating in the north of the country, close to Turkish borders. Washington and Moscow are concerned fast-moving military developments could lead to serious clashes between Turkish forces and the YPG.
"It should now be accepted that a terrorist organization cannot be defeated with another one," Erdogan said, referring to the enlistment of YPG by the United States to fight Islamic State.
"As a country that has been battling terror for 35 years, terrorist organizations like Daesh (Islamic State), the YPG, Nusra front and others are organizations we face at all times.”
