Turkey not deterred by threats, says foreign minister

<p>By Diyar Guldogan</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Ankara will not shrink from threats by U.S. President Donald Trump, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday.</p> <p>&quot;We have repeatedly said that we are never afraid of threats. Threatening Turkey economically will get you nowhere,&quot; Cavusoglu told a news conference with his Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn in the Turkish capital Ankara.</p> <p>Cavusoglu's remarks came in response to Trump's threat to attack Turkey's economy if Ankara hits the terror group PKK/YPG during the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.</p> <p>&quot;Strategic partners&quot; should not communicate through social media, Cavusoglu added, in clear reference to the perennially tweeting U.S. leader.</p> <p>&quot;[The US] Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds,&quot; Trump tweeted on Sunday, conflating “Kurds” with the terrorist PKK/YPG, a confusion that Turkey has repeatedly criticized.</p> <p>Cavusoglu said Turkey is not the enemy of the Kurdish people.</p> <p>He added there is serious pressure on Trump not to withdraw from Syria.</p> <p>Following the surprise announcement in December that U.S. forces would leave Syria, U.S. officials said withdrawal was conditional on the U.S. not attacking the &quot;Kurds,&quot; meaning the terrorist PKK/YPG.</p> <p>Turkish officials attacked the U.S. conflation of &quot;Kurds&quot; with the terror group, saying a forthcoming Turkish operation in Syria targets a terrorist group which threatens Arabs, Turkmens, and Kurds alike in Syria.</p> <p>In its 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives. The YPG/PYD is its Syrian branch.</p>