A spokesman for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party has said that the United States is wrong to try to hold Turkey to a UN resolution passed on Saturday calling for a ceasefire in Syria, pro-government newspaper Milliyet reported.

“The U.S. is co-operating with terrorist elements that Turkey, which protects NATO’s southern borders, is fighting,” Mahir Ünal said.

“America does this and turns to us and says ‘read the ceasefire decision carefully’. You should first read Syria carefully. You are co-operating with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) which you accept as a terrorist organisation.”

The United States’ posture could either be explained as tragedy or irony, Ünal added, as it was protecting terrorists and leaving civilians in danger under the cover of protecting them.

“No-one should use a decision taken in order to protect innocent civilians there and to allow humanitarian aid to be brought into Syria in order to protect terror and terrorist elements,” he said.