ANKARA – *Turkey’s president has criticized NATO for not supporting thecountry’s ongoing military operation against Syrian Kurdish fighters inSyria.*

AP reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday:”Hey NATO, where are you?”. AP reported Erdogan accused the alliance ofdouble standards.

He said Turkey sent troops to conflict zones when requested, but did notreceive support in return.

Turkey launched a solo military offensive against the Syrian KurdishPeople’s Protection Units or YPG on Jan. 20 to clear them from Afrin innorthwestern Syria. The country considers the YPG a terror organization butits NATO ally, the United States, backs the fighters to combat Daesh group.

Erdogan urged NATO to come to the aid of Turkey, saying its borders are”under threat right now.”

According to RT, the Turkish leader also reiterated his earlier statements,that his only goal in Syria was the “fight against terrorism.” When Ankarareaches it, the troops will be pulled out of the country, he stated.

“Turkey’s goal is not capture of the territories of the other states, butonly elimination of the terrorism threat in the region. Turkey will fightterrorists anywhere they operate,” Erdogan said, once again promising newmilitary operations in Syria, including in the areas held by the US-backedKurdish-led militias.

Washington has repeatedly called upon Turkey to stop its “aggression”against the Afrin region, omitting the fact that the US-led coalitionitself spent years in Syria without any invitation from the government orinternational approval, RT reported.

The recent UNSC resolution, which urged a 30-days Syria-wide ceasefire, hasbeen also used to call upon Erdogan to halt their operations.

RT quoted US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as saying inFebruary: “Turkey is more than welcome to go back and read the exact textof this UN Security Council resolution, and I would suggest that they doso.”

At the time she said that the Afrin region was “certainly within Syria.” -Agencies