Erdogan: US should choose between Turkey, Kurdish forces

That came after envoy Brett McGurk’s visit to Kobani, where the PYD’s military wing, aided by US-led airstrikes, drove back Islamic State militants a year ago. Turkey considers the PYD a terrorist group because of its affiliation with Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

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Erdogan said: “How can we trust you? Is it me that is your partner or is it the terrorists in Kobani?”

In Washington, a State Department spokesman reiterated the longstanding US policy that considers the PKK “to be a terrorist organisation.”

“We continue to call on the PKK to immediately cease its campaign of violence. A resumed political process offers the best hope for greater civil rights, security, and prosperity for all the citizens of Turkey,” said Noel Clay of the State Department.