WORLD NEWS NOVEMBER 27, 2019 / 10:57 AM / UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO

Turkey not backing down in NATO defense plans dispute: source

Tuvan Gumrukcu
3 MIN READ

ANKARA (Reuters) - Ankara will resist efforts by its NATO allies to persuade it to back an alliance defense plan for the Baltics and Poland until its demands are met over a plan for Turkey’s defense, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Wednesday.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Turkey was refusing to back the plan for the Baltics and Poland unless it got more political support for its fight against Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria.

Turkey wants NATO to formally recognize the YPG militia, the main component of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as terrorists and is infuriated that its allies have given the militia support.

The Turkish source said NATO had agreed this year to back the alliance plan for defense of Turkey, including in the event of an attack from the south, where it borders Syria.

The plan included recognizing the YPG as a terrorist threat to Turkey, but Washington later withdrew its support and other countries then opposed it too, the source added

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