According to the daily Erdogan told reporters on Friday that “We have not experienced such a situation with previous U.S. leaders."

referring to the Syrian Kurdish forces, the Turkish president stated: “Let alone fighting terrorist organizations, the U.S. gives them loads of equipment."

Ankara considers the People’s Protections Units (YPG) as a “terrorist group” linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), waging an insurgency on Turkish soil.

Since 2016, Turkey has seized swathes of northern Syria in four cross-border offensives to drive back Islamic State (ISIS) and the YPG.

It has been infuriated by the U.S. support for the militia, repeatedly urging its NATO ally to halt its relations with the group.

In an offensive in 2019, with the support of Syrian rebels, Turkey seized a 120 km (75 mile) stretch of border territory in northeast Syria from the YPG.

That incursion was widely condemned by Ankara’s Western allies as the YPG was the main component of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that helped the United States defeat ISIS.

Reporter's code: 50101