Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist group by the United States, Turkey and Europe. It remains to be seen what shadow the issue will cast over the talks between Trump and Erdogan, which have been touted as chance to forge a new partnership between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies. The U.S. decision to arm the YPG "will surely have consequences and will yield a negative result for the U.S.as well", Yildirim said.
Trump made a decision to arm the Syrian Kurds despite objections from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally, Turkey.
The capture of a key Syrian town and a nearby dam from Islamic State group militants by Syrian Kurdish-led forces undermines the IS's ability to defend its de facto capital, Raqqa and disrupts its ability to plan attacks in Western countries, the USA -led worldwide coalition said Thursday.
"We're going to carefully monitor what's being provided and what it's used for, and we are completely committed to make sure that it's being used for exactly the goal that we intend", said Air Force Col. John Dorrian.
The officials weren't authorized to publicly discuss the matter and demanded anonymity.
"The Kurds are not receiving air-defense weapons", he added.
The Obama administration had been leaning toward arming the Syrian Kurds but struggled with how that could be done without torpedoing relations with Turkey, a key political actor in the greater Middle East.
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In a reflection of the sensitivities in Ankara, White issued a follow-up statement hours after her initial comments.
Turkey today slammed as unacceptable a USA plan to arm Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Ankara considers terrorists, but the militia applauded a "historic" move that would speed up the defeat of Islamic State (IS) extremists.
Also, the State Department said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart on Monday night. Bob Corker of Tennessee, said he is not anxious about how Turkey will react.
But Washington's reassurances have failed to assuage Ankara.
Even with the extra USA weaponry, the Kurds and their Syrian Arab partners are expected to face a hard and perhaps lengthy fight for control of Raqqa, which has been key to the extremists' state-building project. Its leaders have railed against any strategy that, in their view, would involve the US using one terrorist group to fight another.
Also on Wednesday, the White House announced that Erdogan would arrive in Washington next Tuesday for talks with President Donald Trump. He and other officials have said the USA will closely monitor the weapons' distribution and insure that they are used only against IS.
"The SDF's success against ISIS demonstrates the power of working by, with and through local partner forces fighting ISIS, among their own people, in their own territory", Dorrian said in the U.S. Central Command statement.
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