Ambassador of Turkey: The aim is to create peace in the area and clear it from terrorist groups

Hakki Emre Yunt says he doesn't think YPG played an important role when IS was defeated.

Who are the terrorists?

- It is a group that calls itself the YPG, which is a branch of the PKK. The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, thus also by Sweden.

But the general impression among the world's media is that YPG played an important role when IS was defeated?

- I don't agree, they didn't do much. One terrorist group does not fight another.

What does Turkey require of the Kurds today? Should they leave the area?

- No, the civilian population can stay. But we urge the YPG warriors to leave if they do not want to die. To jump off and return home and not die unnecessarily.

Any civilian victims so far?

- The number should be kept to a minimum - if there are any at all. We must do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. We did it in Afrin and other areas, where there were almost no civilian victims.

I spoke today with a Kurdish man who had moved from the border area and he said there were at least ten civilian victims in his home area yesterday.

- YPG will continue with this kind of black propaganda. They did the same in Afrin last year. They used images from conflicts in other parts of the world. But you should not believe that, says Turkey's ambassador Hakki Emre Yunt.