Updated October 15th, 2019 at 15:46 IST

Turkish Prez Erdogan lashes out at NATO for lack of support on Syria

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out on NATO members on October 14 for not supporting Ankara's offensive against Kurdish forces of Syria.

Reported by: Sounak Mitra
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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at NATO members on October 14 for not supporting Ankara's offensive against Kurdish forces of Syria for intruding into their borders and defeating them. He argued that by doing so, they are taking the side of terrorists. Turkey has been put under diplomatic and economic pressure by the NATO allies which include Germany, France, and the UK following its decision to launch a military operation in northeastern Syria last week.

READ: 'Turkish Invasion Of N Syria Has Resulted In Widespread Casualties'

President Erdogan criticizes lack of support from NATO members

An arms deal ban and different measures are on the table over what Turkey touts as an authentic counterterrorist campaign. President Erdogan on Monday criticized the lack of support from the NATO allies. He questioned according to article 5 of the NATO treaty, which side the allies should take. He said they need to support Turkey rather than referring to an agreement that says a military attack on one member results attack on all of them. Erdogan said that the citizens of Turkey believe that the mistreatment was due to the fact that their nation is the only Muslim majority NATO ally. The President said that the European leaders were misinformed about Turkey's actions. He said the European leaders do not know many original facts and are under the pressure of very serious disinformation.

READ: Kurds In Iran Protest Against Turkey's Military Invasion In Syria

Turkey's Operation Spring of Peace targets Syrian Kurdish local armies

Turkey's Operation Spring of Peace targets Syrian Kurdish local armies, which is Ankara's eyes are only an expansion of its domestic Kurdish guerrillas. The Kurd supporters said that they played a major role in defeating jihadist forces in northeastern Syria with the US helping them with air and artillery support. The unilateral invasion of northern Syria has resulted in widespread casualties and destruction, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday. This has also undermined the successful multinational "Defeat ISIS" mission in Syria, he said. Esper will be visiting NATO in Brussels and he plans to press members of the alliance to take collective and individual diplomatic and economic measures in response to Turkish actions.

READ: "Always With India": Syrian Envoy On Kashmir; Slams Pak Over Turkey

READ: Prepared To Swiftly Destroy Turkey's Economy, Says Donald Trump

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Published October 15th, 2019 at 13:06 IST