Germany should act in line with alliance spirit: Turkish FM

Germany should act in line with alliance spirit: Turkish FM

ANKARA

Turkey's foreign minister on Oct. 26 called on Germany to act in line with the “spirit of alliance” on Turkey’s anti-terrorism operation in northern Syria.

“What we expect from Germany is that it acts in line with the spirit of alliance,” Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at a joint news conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in the capital Ankara.

Çavuşoğlu said that YPG/PKK terror group’s affiliates in Germany had harassed and attacked Turkish citizens, and urged German security officials to act against such elements.

“Turkey is the country most sensitive to issues of Syria's territorial integrity and voluntary return of refugees,” he said, adding that some countries -- including Israel and France -- placed little importance on Syria’s territorial integrity when it was YPG/PKK terrorists trying to divide the country.

The minister also said that over 30,000 displaced Syrians had returned to northern Syria since the Oct. 9 launch of Turkey’s anti-terror operation there, according to UN data.

Turkey will not tolerate any human rights violations in northeast Syria, he added.

"We will investigate to the very end even the smallest bit of violation [of human rights] and complaint. We won't tolerate even the least violation of human rights violations," Çavuşoğlu said.  

Commenting on the U.S. president and senators praising Ferhat Abdi Şahin (Mazloum Kobani), the terrorist YPG/PKK’s ringleader, he said: “It is unacceptable that the U.S. establishes dialogue with a terrorist sought by Interpol.”