Turkey’s minister of European Union affairs dismisses claims that a cease-fire has been reached with Kurdish rebels in northern Syria.
In comments made to the state-run Anadolu news agency on Wednesday, EU Minister Omer Celik says, “Turkey is a sovereign state, it is a legitimate state. To suggest it is on a par with a terrorist organization and suggest there are talks between them, that a deal has been reached between them, this is unacceptable.”
Turkey’s incursion into Syria helped rebels take the border town of Jarablus from the Islamic State group last week, but clashes have since broken out between Turkish and Kurdish forces in the area.
The Kurdish-backed Jarablus Military Council said in a statement Tuesday it had agreed to a cease-fire following consultations with the U.S.-led coalition.