Turkish FM Çavuşoğlu to visit France on Sept 30

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is set to pay an official visit to France on Sept. 30.  

Çavuşoğlu will visit France at the invitation of his counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.

He will exchange views with his French counterpart on “regional issues, particularly on Syria and bilateral relations, as well as other issues on our common agenda,” added the statement.

Meanwhile Çavuşğglu on Sept. 28 urged the U.S. to stop arming the YPG, the Syrian affiliate of the PKK which is designated by the U.S. and EU as a terrorist organization.

Çavuşoğlu wrote an op-ed in the The Washington Post, in which he said the U.S. was shipping weapons to the YPG, using 5,000 trucks and 2,000 cargo planes to do so according to estimates given by Turkish officials.

The YPG also filed a request for a lobbying office in Washington D.C. in April, using the name the U.S. Mission of the Syrian Democratic Council.

"The political arm of a terrorist group seeking to peddle influence in Washington is a shocking state of affairs, and President [Donald] Trump should block its activity," said the Turkish minister.

"I’m an ally of the Kurdish people. In fact, my party has been honored to receive notable electoral support among Turkish Kurds. I am, however, a sworn enemy of terrorists of all stripes," Çavuşoğlu wrote, referring to ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

"Arming the YPG directly endangers Turkey and its people, who have already faced decades of fear and violence at the hands of a ruthless and radical terrorist movement", said Çavuşoğlu. "And now, with the help of our NATO ally, the PKK is being armed to the teeth."

The top diplomat also warned that unless drastic and immediate steps are taken to reverse the course, Turkish citizens will suffer as a result of this "reckless policy."

Earlier this month, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey has suffered by far the highest number of terrorist attacks in comparison with other NATO members.