UPDATE - US forces must leave areas of Syria east of Euphrates River: Turkish president

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY TURKISH PRESIDENT

ANKARA (AA) - The US needs to withdraw its forces from regions of Syria east of the Euphrates River, as part of the Astana peace process for Syria, the Turkish president said Wednesday.

"America has to leave east of the Euphrates now. This is an outcome that came out of the Astana process,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one day after an Astana process summit with the Russian and Iranian presidents, stressing that his Astana partners agree with this judgement.

"Türkiye expects this as well because it is America that feeds the terrorist groups there," Erdogan told reporters en route back to Türkiye, referring to the terror group YPG/PKK, which the US has partnered with on the pretext of fighting Daesh/ISIS terrorists.

Reiterating the possibility of another Turkish anti-terrorist operation across its southern border into northern Syria, following other successful operations in recent years, Erdogan said a new operation will be on the table as long as Ankara’s longstanding concerns have not been met.

"You see that the American (military) staff there train members of the terrorist organization (YPG/PKK),” he continued.

“During this training, they are waving the flag of the regime there. Why?”

He added: “Their job is to commit a terrorist act against the Turkish soldiers there. Here, too, they think if they are deceiving the Turkish army by waving the regime's flag there. We won't be fooled.”

YPG/PKK terrorists periodically attempt to attack Turkish troops in opposition-held northern Syria, soldiers stationed there to keep peace along the border and protect locals from terrorist domination.

​​​​​​​Türkiye has long criticized the US working with the YPG/PKK supposedly against Daesh/ISIS, saying that using one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the European Union, and the US, and is responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the terrorist PKK’s Syrian branch.

- Sweden, Finland's NATO bids

Erdogan said Türkiye will not have positive attitude toward NATO bids of Sweden and Finland, unless they meet promises on fighting terrorism.

"We have very clearly explained our conditions to Finland and Sweden at the table where the NATO secretary-general is also present. There is nothing hidden. Our condition is that these countries end the activities and demonstrations of terrorist organizations and extradite the terrorists," he added.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join the transatlantic alliance in June, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

But one longstanding member of the alliance, Türkiye, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terror groups.

A trilateral agreement signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the YPG/PYD, the PKK's Syrian offshoot, nor to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye, and said Ankara extends full support to Finland and Sweden against threats to their national security.

- F-16 sales to Türkiye

About the US House amendment to restrict F-16 sales to Türkiye, Erdogan said: "When we discussed these issues with (US President Joe) Biden, he did not impose such a Greece condition on us. On the contrary, during our meeting, we said that as NATO member countries, we must protect each other's law. 'I will do my best,' he said on the F-16s.

"Unfortunately, at the moment, there are those who oppose this in the House of Representatives. When we look at the current developments, in my opinion, such a condition is not binding for us."

The US House of Representatives last week approved a legislation that would create a new hurdle for US President Joe Biden’s plan to sell F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye.

The amendment put forward by New Jersey lawmaker Frank Pallone passed 244-179 with strong Democratic support and 60 votes of approval coming from Republicans.

It prohibits the sale or transfer of F-16s and modernization kits to Ankara unless the president certifies the transfer is in the US' national interests, and guarantees to Congress that in the 120 days prior to the transfer, the Turkish government has not "violated the sovereignty of Greece, including through territorial overflights."

- Grain export issue

Erdogan reminded journalists of an agreement reached last week after the four-way talks between Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian, and UN officials held in Istanbul to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports.

"At the technical meeting held in Istanbul last week, an agreement was reached on the main lines of the process under the UN plan.

"Now this week, we want to tie this memorandum into a written text. We hope that the plan will start to be implemented in the coming days. The process will be carried out from a coordination center to be established in Istanbul," he added.

Erdogan also said Türkiye continues intense efforts to end this sensitive process, which is of critical importance in terms of global food security.