Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday he had evidence that the U.S.-led coalition gave support to terrorist groups in Syria, according to Reuters.
”They were accusing us of supporting Daesh,” he told a press conference in Ankara, Reuters reports.
”Now they give support to terrorist groups including Daesh [the Islamic State], YPG, PYD. It`s very clear. We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos,” he said.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday rejected as ”ludicrous” accusations by the Turkish leader that the coalition supported terrorist groups in Syria, including the Islamic State and Kurdish militant groups.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner there was no basis for such an accusation.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Turkey`s foreign minister has told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Ankara and Moscow believe followers of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen were behind the killing of Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov, ministry sources said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The assassination has served to underline a budding alliance that could have the effect of excluding the United States from the endgame of Syria`s civil war and critically weakening U.S. influence across the Middle East. That, at least, is Vladimir Putin`s clear intention, according to The Washington Post.
