+ A
A -
Istanbul: Turkey’s president lashed out at his NATO allies and vowed to step up the offensive in Syria despite US threats of crippling sanctions, European arms embargoes and ceasefire demands. “Come and side with Turkey in this struggle, not against it. At least do not meddle with it,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament Wednesday.“To those who threaten us with economic sanctions over Syria: Every wound you inflict on our economy will trigger a bigger wound on your economy,” Erdogan said to applause and cheers in parliament, about the US warning of further economic sanctions. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull back US troops from north-eastern Syria and abandon its partners, Syrian Kurdish militias, paved the way for Turkey’s offensive on October 9. “They did not expect the Turkish army would gain ground so fast. Now they started calling us as the winds have changed,” Erdogan said. (dpa)
