Trump approves plan to arm Syrian Kurds against Islamic State

Turkey slammed an "unacceptable" USA announcement that it will supply arms and military equipment to Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State group militants in Syria, reports said on Wednesday, while the Syrian Democratic Forces which will benefit from the deal praised the move.

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump has approved a plan to arm Syrian Kurds in order to help them fight ISIS in Raqqa.

But Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli told A Haber television, "We can not accept the presence of terrorist organizations that would threaten the future of the Turkish state".

"There is still an opportunity for the United States to take Turkey's sensitivities into consideration".

Meanwhile, the Kurdish-Arab force battling the Islamic State group in Syria said USA arms and military equipment to Kurdish fighters would "hasten the defeat" of the militants.

The dispute could ignite more fighting between the two key American allies in the battle against the extremist group as Syrian Kurdish forces gear up for a major operation to drive the militants from their de facto capital, Raqqa. But Ankara sees the YPG as part of a terrorist organization waging an insurgency in Turkey's southeast, near the Syrian border.

And Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters during a visit to Montenegro that every weapon obtained by the YPG constituted a "threat" to Turkey.

"The Trump administration providing arms to a terrorist organisation - either directly or indirectly through the YPG - does not change the fact that this amounts to support to a terror organisation".

Ozsoy expressed HDP stance that Turkey should change this perception of Syrian Kurds as threat for the national security which was the reason of disagreement with the United States decision on providing arms to YPG.

"We support the USA decision and consider that providing arms to Kurds in Syria will help to liberate Raqqa and the peace settlement in Syria", Ozsoy said. Jets carrying out air strikes against the jihadist group have flown from Turkey's Incirlik air base.

Earlier, Turkey called on the United States to "rectify" its policy of supporting the YPG. They said the USA would not provide artillery or surface-to-air missiles. "Such a policy will not be beneficial, you can't be in the same sack as terrorist organizations". The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) also lashed out against the USA decision.

Mattis, the US defense secretary, said on May 10 that the United States had had very open discussions with Turkey. "We will work very closely with Turkey in support of their security on their southern border", he said.

The U.S. sees the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as its most effective battlefield partner against IS in northern and eastern Syria. -Turkish relations. In March, the US deployed troops to Manbij, Syria, to act as a buffer between feuding Turkish and Kurdish forces.

"I hope very much that this mistake will be reversed immediately", Erdogan said in Ankara alongside Sierra Leone counterpart Ernest Bai Koroma.

Despite the angry language, Erdogan's government has little prospect of reversing Washington's decision, and any retaliatory move would come at a cost.

The move will likely be infuriating for Erdogan, who had sent a parade of senior officials to Washington ahead of his visit to try to convince the administration to back a Turkish push on Raqqa.

Canikli said Turkey would take the diplomatic initiative to convince Washington "to do what friendship requires".