French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hosted representatives of the Kurdish-led force that defeated Islamic State (IS) extremists in Syria, drawing a sharp rebuke from Turkey's foreign ministry.
Macron assured the Kurdish envoys of French support in their fight against the remaining jihadists, but Ankara accused the French leader of "seeking to confer artificial legitimacy on a faction of terrorist groups".
"We condemn the reception by French President Emmanuel Macron of a delegation of so-called 'Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF)," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in the statement.
In late March the US-backed SDF flushed out IS fighters from their last bastion in Syria but Kurdish-led force still warns that the jihadists remain a threat in places. The SDF is an umbrella Kurdish-Arab force dominated by Kurds from the People's Protection Units (YPG). It is regarded with huge distrust by neighbouring Turkey which sees the YPG as a terror group.
Macron assured the visiting SDF representatives, who were not named, of the "active support of France in the fight against Daesh which continues to be a menace for collective security," the presidency said in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
Particularly important is the support in the "handling of terrorist fighters held as prisoners along with their families". European capitals are keeping a careful eye on the IS prisoners held by the SDF after the defeat of the jihadists, given many are dual nationals.
Macron also vowed that financial support would be allocated to "respond to the humanitarian needs and the socio-economic stabilisation of civilian populations in Syria."
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