Turkey rejects US 'double standards' in Syria ceasefire

Turkey on Thursday accused the US of a double standard by specifying which "terrorist" groups can be fought in Syria and which cannot be. Several Turkish government officials criticized earlier US remarks that implied that Turkey's operations in Afrin are in violation of the UN's Syria ceasefire resolution. Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said: "Afrin is not mentioned there [in the UN resolution] ... Terrorists are all the same, you cannot divide them into bad and good ones. The United States behaves illogically guided by double standards, this cannot be accepted." When asked by reporters on Tuesday if Turkey is "violating the UN ceasefire" in Syria, US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said that she would "encourage Turkey to go back and read the UN resolution." The UN Security Council on Saturday, February 24, passed a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria. Exceptions Quoting the UN resolution, Heather Nauert said: "[the UN] demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay and engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation of this demand by all parties for a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria." But Nauert added "It [the resolution] affirms that the cessation of hostilities shall not apply to military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), also known as Daesh, al-Qaeda, and al-Nusrah Front, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with al-Qaeda and ISIL and other terror groups as designated by the Security Council." "So I think the resolution was clear here in naming exactly which groups are considered to be exempt from the ceasefire." INSIDE STORY: How will new front in Syria war impact US-Turkey ties? (25:00) Turkey's view Turkey has stressed that the ceasefire is meant to give relief to civilian areas hit hard by Syrian government air raids, and has nothing to do with Turkey's "counterterrorism" operation in Afrin, northwestern Syria. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said that Nauert "couldn't understand the focal point of the resolution or wants to distort it". "In Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Turkey is exercising its right to self-defence based on Article 51 of the UN Charter," said Aksoy. According to Turkey, the UN ceasefire resolution is meant to provide humanitarian and medical relief to the battered Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta, the target of a five-year siege by the Syrian government. Source: Middle East