Turkey’s foreign minister said on Saturday that Ankara wants to see Washington take firm action to get U.S. arms out of the hands of the terrorist PYD/PKK.

“We want to see more concrete steps rather than words. The U.S. must cut ties with the terrorist organization,” by stopping the supply of arms and also taking back arms previously given to the terror group, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters before a meeting in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

Çavuşoğlu’s remarks followed U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster telling a Turkish presidential aide in a phone call on Friday night that no further weapons would be given to the PYD/YPG, which Çavuşoğlu called “a confirmation of [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s word” to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey’s counterterrorism ops enable Syrian refugees to return home, says Erdoğan President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan evaluated the ongoing Operation Olive Branch and mosque attacks in Germany during a speech at the opening ceremony of the Kasımpaşa Tunnel in Istanbul on Saturday.“3,000 Daesh terrorists were neutralized in Operation Euphrates Shield, and 100,000 refugees returned to their homes safely. Daesh has been eliminated from Syria yet weapons are still sent to this region using excuses,” Erdoğan said.“The world has seen that Qandil is in charge of the terror organization in Syria. Our nation does not hold hostility against any country. We aim to protect the future and independence of our nation. The PYD, YPG and Daesh are terrorist organizations,” he added.Three more PYD/PKK lies about Afrin operation exposedTurkey initiated Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 in Afrin to establish security and stability, eliminate terrorists of PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh, and save locals from the terrorists’ oppression and cruelty."We will embrace those who extend their friendly hand. We will break bread with those who ask for help. We will also show no mercy to those who try to harm our future and freedom,” Erdoğan said.“Within eight days, 394 terrorists were neutralized,” he added.Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012, when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.'Afrin operation meant to eliminate terrorist groups'Mosque attacks in GermanyThe president also commented on the attacks on mosques in Europe.“The same things that are happening in Germany are also happening in Belgium. When we touch on these issues, they become uncomfortable. If a church here [in Turkey] was harmed and our police watched, what would the world say? The mosque attacks in Germany are unacceptable.” Erdoğan said.Supporters of the PYD/PKK attacked five mosques run by Turkish-Muslim associations since last Friday when Turkey began a military operation in northwestern Syria's Afrin.The assailants attacked mosques by stones and bottles filled with paint; they vandalized the buildings, wrote pro-PKK slogans and threatened to carry out further violence.

Following on a similar pledge from last November, earlier this week Trump reportedly told Erdogan in a phone call that the U.S. would stop supplying weapons to the terrorist group.

“The U.S. should demonstrate these [words] concretely because there is a crisis of confidence,” Çavuşoğlu said.

“They have to make them [PKK/PYD] drop their weapons completely. They should take back the weapons they gave. They [the terrorist group] should immediately retreat from Manbij” in northern Iraq.

Emphasizing that the U.S. is a country that combats terrorism and “admits” the YPG is no different from the PKK -- a terror group recognized by the EU, U.S., and Turkey -- Çavuşoğlu said Turkey is a country that keeps its word.

Three more PYD/PKK lies about Afrin operation exposed The efforts of PYD/YPG/PKK terrorist supporters to slander Turkey’s military operation in Afrin, Syria through social media continue to be exposed as photos taken years ago and showing completely different events.One photo -- one of three recently exposed -- claimed to show “Turkish planes taken by the YPG in Afrin,” but actually was a March 16, 2015 shot of a Malaysian stunt plane.Another photo shared on social media allegedly shows an "attack on a Turkish Armed Forces tank," but actually shows a tank on fire in Libya on March 19, 2011.Finally, a photo claiming “Turkish soldiers held in Afrin” turned out to have been taken in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 defeated coup attempt in Turkey.After the PKK terrorist group instructed its supporters to post fake images online in an attempt to tarnish Turkey's Afrin operation, some accounts posting such distortions were shut down after Anadolu Agency reporting.Nonetheless, the misinformation campaign of the PYD/PKK terrorists and their supporters has continued online against the Turkish military and its Operation Olive Branch in Afrin.Since the operation began on Jan. 20, a number of pictures shared by pro-PYD/PKK accounts on social media supposedly about the Afrin operation turned out to be old photos that were taken years earlier.All the claims, including a winner of Anadolu Agency’s 2016 Istanbul Photo Awards, were false and the pictures were actually captured before the operation even began.According to the Turkish General Staff, the aim of the Afrin operation is to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region, and protect the Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.The military has said the operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity.It has also said that only terrorist targets are being destroyed, and "utmost importance" is being paid to not harming any civilians.The PYD/PKK is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

Vexing support

The U.S. supports the PYD/PKK, considered by Ankara as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group, which has waged a more than 30-year war against the Turkish state, resulting in some 40,000 deaths.

American support for the terror group has long vexed Ankara, as Washington has called the PYD/PKK-led umbrella group, the SDF, a "reliable partner" in its fight against Daesh and has continued to provide it with arms and equipment in the face of strong objections from Turkey.

Turkey on Jan. 20 launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.

PYD/PKK terrorists in Afrin masking selves as civilians Feeling the heat due to Turkey’s military operation in Afrin, Syria, PYD/PKK terrorists are trying to disguise themselves as civilians, according to security sources on the ground. Due the Turkish military’s successful advance, the so-called officials of the PYD/PKK terrorist group are trying provocative new methods, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.As part of their provocative activities and attempts to mislead the public, the so-called officials ordered PYD/PKK terrorists to disguise themselves in civilian clothes and defend themselves by evacuating civilian houses in villages and townships in the path of the Turkish military, the sources added.The terrorist group has been trying to use civilians in the region as human shields since the beginning of the operation, said the sources, adding that the terrorists have been seeking new methods as one by one their plans were foiled by the Turkish military.There is also intelligence that the PYD/PKK is planning to bomb civilians in the region and put the blame on Turkish forces.On the other hand, Turkish soldiers, who continue to advance towards the Afrin city center along with the Free Syrian Army forces, are giving a helping hand to the people in the region, in the villages they have rid of the terrorists.Turkey on Jan. 20 launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity.Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012 when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without a fight.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity.

Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012 when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without a fight.

'Afrin operation meant to eliminate terrorist groups' Turkey's prime minister has said that main goal of Turkey's Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Syria is to eliminate the terrorist groups there and ensure the safe return of hundreds of thousands of civilians from Afrin who took shelter in Turkey."Our goal in Afrin is to resolve the problem there, to remove the armed group from threatening innocent people in our country as well as there” in Afrin, Binali Yıldırım said late Friday, speaking at a closed-door meeting organized by Istanbul’s Beyoglu Municipality. “350,000 people took shelter in Turkey after fleeing Afrin. When we clean up the place they will go and settle there. This is our goal, very neat and clean."He said the Turkish military operation had been launched to prevent the disintegration of Syria and protect the territorial integrity of the war-torn country."Turkey will continue to increase efforts in this regard," he said, adding that Ankara has delivered this message to its allies and regional neighbors, including Iran and Russia.The aim of Operation Olive Branch is to protect Syria’s territorial integrity and prevent irreparable divisions, he said.No solution in Syria is possible "without considering the territorial integrity" of the country, he said."Without this we could face chaos and turmoil … the disappearance of people. So territorial integrity is essential for a solution in Syria.”“If we seek a solution without tending to Syria’s territorial integrity, we might regret it … I believe that all countries have come to this understanding, except one,” Yildirim said, referring to the U.S.“But they will also understand,” he added.He warned that a solution in Syria would not be an easy process, explaining: "At least 800,000 people have been massacred and over 10 million people have been displaced from their homes."Yildirim also said all ethnic groups and the regime would participate in the solution process in Syria.“If we pursue a solution in Syria by ignoring the regime, this chaos in Syria will continue for many years. So the regime will be included in the resolution process along with all ethnic groups in Syria,” Yildirim said.But one group will not be included, said Yildirim.The terrorists “who kill innocents cannot sit at any point of that [negotiating] table,” he added indicating the PYD/PKK terrorist organization."The PYD/PKK does not have a Kurdish problem, but the Kurds have a PYD/PKK problem," he added.Asked if Turkey has a precondition to have direct contacts with the Bashar al-Assad regime, Yildirim said Turkey had indirect contacts with the regime.“Turkey has no direct contacts with Assad. Regarding Afrin, we had low-profile contacts through Russia.”On Jan. 20 Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Syria’s Afrin region.According to the Turkish General Staff, the ongoing operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN Charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.The military also said "utmost importance" is being put on not harming civilians.Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012 when the regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad left the city to the terror group without a fight.