Çavuşoğlu: "This is a double standard and hypocrisy"

Baku. 27 May. REPORT.AZ/ Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has strongly reacted to photos of U.S. special operations forces wearing Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG) insignia on their shoulders during an assault on Syria’s Raqqa, saying it is “unacceptable.” 

“It is unacceptable that an ally country is using the YPG insignia. We reacted to it. It is impossible to accept it. This is a double standard and hypocrisy,” Report informs referring to the Turkish media, M.Çavuşoğlu said on May 27. 

Commenting on the photos, the Pentagon acknowledged that special operations forces do what they can “to blend in with the community.”

“Special operations forces, when they operate in certain areas, do what they can to blend in with the community to enhance their own protection, their own security,” said Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook during a May 26 press briefing, adding that he would not comment on specific photos.

Agence France-Presse released photos showing armed men in uniform identified by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as U.S. special operations in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa on May 25. Some of the men seen in the photos wore an YPG insignia on their shoulders. 

“Special operations forces in the past have worked with partners, and in the past have conducted themselves in such a way that they might operate in an atmosphere in which they are supportive of that local force in their advice and assist role,” Cook said. 

“And they might be, again, for visual purposes, blending in with the local community,” he added. 

The U.S.-backed SDF, which consists of the YPG, Syrian Arabs and Syriacs, launched an offensive against ISIL stronghold Raqqa on May 24.