Turkey doesn't want Kurds at Syria negotiating table

Turkey doesn't want Kurds at Syria negotiating table

Cavusoglu made the statement a few hours before UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura was to address the press in Geneva and speak about the plans for negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition this week.

The peace initiative should help end the war that in nearly five years resulted in the deaths of more than 250,000 people. However, the initiative suffered delays and disputes, especially over who should participate on the side of the opposition.

Cavusoglu said that Turkey considers the forces of the Syrian Kurds to be "terrorists" - but these forces have been supported by Russia, the U.S., and other countries, in their fight against Islamic State.

Noting that the People's Protection Units, the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, was "a terrorist organization," Cavusoglu said that "no terrorist organization should participate in the Geneva process," the news agency Cihan reported.