Turkey's Erdogan rejects arm transfer to Syrian Kurdish party

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sunday rejected the notion of allowing the transfer of arms to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, saying it is a "terrorist group".

"The PYD, for us, is equal with the outlawed Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK). It is a terrorist organisation. It would be very wrong for the US, a NATO ally, to openly talk of such support to the PYD and expect us to agree," Xinhua cited semi-official Anadolu Agency as quoting Erdogan.

He also criticised the Western countries for not supporting other groups in Syria which also have been fighting against the Islamic State (IS) terririst group.

Erdogan's remarks came after a US statement last week revealed that Washington directly met with representatives of the PYD.

Ankara considers the PYD as affiliated with the PKK, and keeps a distance from the group despite some meetings with its co-chair Saleh Moslim.

In a recent meeting with Turkish officials, Moslim asked Ankara to allow the transfer of arms provided by third parties to the Kurdish city of Kobane also known as Ayn al-Arab, in northern Syria, which has been the scene of clashes between the military wing of the PYD and the IS militants.

The PYD's military wing is defending the northern border town of Kobane from attacks by the IS fighters. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said last week that the extremists' advances "appear to have slowed" with intensifying US-led airstrikes.