PARIS
European countries have a “misunderstanding” about the situation in the Syrian town of Kobani, Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkir said Tuesday.
Bozkir also urged other countries to stop accusing Turkey of not doing enough to deal with the dire situation in the town that is also known as Ayn al Arab.
Bozkir told the European Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly in Paris that the European countries had a "misunderstanding" about what's going on in Kobani. He explained there were no civilians in the town since they had all left to seek refuge in Turkey and now only the Kurdish fighters and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants remained.
He said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or the ISIL, was a threat for the entire region and highlighted the fact that ISIL wanted to establish a "state" in Iraq and Syria.
He said that if European countries were willing to send their troops, Turkey would also do so. "But, of course, no one is willing to do so."
"Instead of just blaming us, we offer European countries to send experts to Turkey to train Kurdish fighters, and then send the fighters to fight the ISIL in Iraq or in Syria."
Kobani has witnessed fierce clashes between the ISIL militants and armed Kurdish groups since mid-September, as well as airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition since early August.
On Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu said 150 Iraqi Peshmerga fighters would enter Kobani "at any moment."
- Turkey’s EU accession process
Bozkir said Turkey had set a reform package to advance on its EU accession negotiations.
“Both side have made some mistakes and now it is time to talk to each other and listen to criticism," he said.
Turkey, which first applied to join the EU bloc in 1987, must comply with 35 "chapters." So far, 14 have been opened, while 17 remain blocked and a further four have yet to be discussed.
The minister said Turkey was expecting France to lift its block of Chapter 17, economic and monetary policy, as the country had fulfilled all its requirements.
The other three chapters are “agriculture and rural development,” “institutions” and “financial and budgetary provisions.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit France Friday.
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