Turkey's allies arming Kurdish militia, no room for it at Syria talks: deputy PM

Reuters
A Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighter reacts as he mourns near the body of his brother, who was an FSA fighter and died during an offensive against Islamic State fighters to take control of Qabasin town, on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's allies are still providing weapons to the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Wednesday, asking "what business does a terror group have at the peace table?". The YPG is one of the United States' strongest allies in its fight against Islamic State in Syria. Ankara regards the Kurdish militia as a terror group closely linked to militants who have fought a three-decade-old insurgency in southeast Turkey. Syrian peace talks are planned to be held in the Kazakh capital Astana, but the date and participants remain unclear. (Reporting by Gulsen Solaker; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall)